Convergence
by javichuelas
Summary: Earth and Halkeginia are connected in many ways. Artifacts and weapons from Earth occasionally appear in Halkeginia under strange circumstances. However, what happens when a passenger airliner carrying hundreds of passengers encounters this phenomenon? It gives a certain familiar a reason for concern that Earth and Halkeginia might be more closely connected than he thought.
1. Turbulence and Thunderstorms

_Midnight, March 8__th__, 2014, Local Time_

The moon is only half full above the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The evening rush hour has died down but traffic still flows to and from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It is here that a Boeing 777-200ER is being fueled for a routine 6 hour flight to Beijing. The screen behind the counter at the gate reads:

_Malaysia Airlines _

_Flight No: 370_

_Destination: Beijing_

_Departing: 00:25_

_Now Boarding: All Passengers_

12 crew members are already aboard to help transport and serve the 227 passengers currently boarding the red-eye flight to China. At the controls of this flight is 49 year old Captain Jehan Ahmed Syed. A veteran with more than 20,000 flight hours, he is joined in the cockpit by 25 year old First Officer Sayid Abdul Awda, a young up and coming pilot with some 2,500 flight hours. As the passengers board, the crew go over the extensive checklists that serve to ensure a smooth flight.

As the last of the passengers board, the crew begin final preparations for departure. The door is closed, the fuel tanks are topped with enough fuel for the 6 hour flight, and the plane is pushed back from the gate. The pilots continue their checklists as the plane taxis to the runway.

"Before Takeoff checklist complete" quips Sayid.

"Alright, let the tower know" replies the Captain.

"Lumpur Tower, Malaysian 370 Heavy at runway 33 Right ready to takeoff"

"Malaysian 370 Heavy, clear for takeoff 33 Right"

"Clear for takeoff 33 Right, Malaysian 370 Heavy"

"Full throttle" orders the captain. Both pilots place their hands on the throttles and push forward. Immediately, the plane's two massive Rolls Royce Trent 800 turbofan engines roar to life and the plane thunders down the runway. The pilots watch the airspeed indicator climb quickly.

"V-1" calls the first officer as the aircraft reaches the speed where it must continue with the takeoff or risk a runway overrun.

"V-1" replies the captain. "Rotate". The First Officer pulls back on the yoke and at 12:41 AM, the plane lifts off into the midnight sky.

It quickly climbs to its assigned cruise altitude of 35,000 feet and both the crew and the passengers settle in for the 6 hour red-eye to Beijing.

_40 minutes later_

As the plane cruised along at 35,000 feet, the flight attendants were serving beverages to the few passengers still awake. Unfortunately, many a deep sleep were interrupted when the bumps began.

Turbulence. Unpredictable, inconvenient, and annoying to many, it jolted several passengers awake. The pilots at the front of the plane were more than used to the occasional shakes caused by unstable air. Even at 35,000 feet, aircraft were still at the mercy of Mother Nature. To them, there was nothing out of the ordinary about a few bumps…

Until the displays in front of them began to act up.

Sayid noticed it first. At first glance, he thought it was a glitch. But then he noticed the Primary Flight Display, which should have shown the position of the aircraft in level flight was beginning to roll back and forth. This despite the fact that the aircraft was more or less in level flight. Looking out the window he saw the half-full moon right where it was supposed to be for level flight.

"Captain" he said, a slight concern in his voice. "Look at the PFD"

"Hm?" the captain focused on the instrument and looked at it with suspicion. "What's with that? A glitch?"

"I don't know. We're still in level flight. Hey the Navigation Display's acting up too" replied Sayid, now noticing yet another display beginning to act strangely. This one displayed the aircraft's planned flight path, or at least it should have. The plane's projected path was faltering. Then it simply disappeared and a message appeared on the display:

ERROR NO SAT DATA(1)

The instant that message appeared a buzz sounded in the cockpit. The autopilot had disconnected automatically.

Captain Jehan immediately regained his composure.

"My aircraft" he commanded in a tone that left no room for argument. "Your aircraft" was the first officer's automatic response. Jehan grabbed the control yoke to keep the plane in level flight.

The pilots immediately began going through their instrument failure checklists. The opted for resetting the Flight Displays. Upon doing so however, their faces showed concern. The Primary Flight Display showed their attitude completely on the fritz despite their level flight and the Navigation Display continued to display that troubling message:

ERROR NO SAT DATA

After several attempts at resetting their instruments, the Captain immediately assessed his options.

"Alright so we've lost navigation and our PFD is malfunctioning. I'm calling this in" he decided.

"Lumpur Center, Malaysian 370 Heavy declaring PAN PAN PAN(2). We've lost navigation, instruments malfunctioning, and are flying on VFR(3)" radioed Jehan. He waited for a few seconds. The few turned into several. Concerned, he repeated the message.

"Lumpur Center, Malaysian 370 Heavy declaring PAN PAN PAN. We've got instrument malfunctions and are on VFR. Please respond"

After a tense minute of waiting, Jehan decided to try a different frequency. After all they were close to Vietnamese airspace so they may have crossed into the coverage of a different Air Traffic Center.

"Ho Chi Minh Center, Malaysian 370 Heavy, PAN PAN PAN, instrument failure. How copy?"

Despite his hopes, the radio remained silent. At this point, Jehan began to worry.

"Looks like our radio is not working either" he told his fellow pilot. "I'm going to divert to Penang. This doesn't feel right."

Jehan tilted the control yoke to the left began heading southwest back towards Malaysia. Despite his instruments not working, the analog compass still worked relatively well and the half-moon provided enough illumination to make out the Malaysian coastline.

"Ok. Keep us on this course. Your plane" said Jehan handing control of the plane to his first officer. "I'm going to tell the passengers."

Hesitantly, he reached for the intercom and keyed the button connecting him to the entire cabin.

"Ladies and Gentlemen this is your captain speaking. There is no reason for alarm but it seems we are having some slight trouble with our navigation displays we are unable to continue the flight to Beijing. We are diverting to Penang Airport as a precaution. There is no reason for alarm. The Malaysia Airlines maintenance facilities at Penang can help us fix this problem and we should be back in the air shortly. We'll have more to update you soon."

He repeated the message in Malaysian and asked one of the flight attendants to repeat it in Mandarin. As he looked at his now useless instruments he remembered his training and calmed himself down. Deep down inside though, he could not shake the feeling of foreboding that something else was going to happen.

"My plane" he calmly stated, retaking control from his young first officer.

As they cruised along in silence, the first officer tried in vain to reacquire the satellite signal and recalibrate the attitude display to no avail.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the lights of George Town came into view and with it Penang International Airport. Jehan turned to Sayid "See if you can raise Penang Airport and tell them our situation" he asked.

Sayid looked for the frequency on the flight computer and tuned to it.

"Penang Tower, Malaysian 370 Heavy, PAN PAN PAN, instrument failure, flying on VFR, request clearance for visual approach. We'd like to land as soon as possible"

Once again, nothing but silence reigned on the radio.

Jehan decided he would circle around the island and come in from the south towards the airport, in order to get a feel of the traffic in the area.

"Keep trying to raise them. I'll get us ready" He lifted the intercom "Flight attendants please prepare the cabin for landing".

As he circled around the island, he failed to notice the thunderstorm forming around him until a bolt of lightning illuminated it. Running low on options and wanting to get the plane on the ground fast, he pressed onwards.

The turbulence that had strangely been absent since the beginning of the crisis returned in earnest. Looking down, the first officer noticed that the attitude indicator was now going haywire, spinning every which way.

"Don't worry. It's just a thunderstorm. We'll make it through this!" Jehan assured his novice co-pilot.

Suddenly, the lights in the cockpit began to flicker. The screens began to flicker. Lightning flashed outside. The plane began to shake violently. Alarms began to go off as the plane bounced inside the storm.

"WHAT IS THIS?" yelled Sayid. In his 7 years of flying he had never seen a thunderstorm like this one. Jehan, despite being focused on keeping the 777 aloft was equally stumped.

A scream was heard from the first class cabin as the plane shook violently and dropped several feet. _Air pocket_ thought Jehan as he struggled with the controls.

Lighting flashed mercilessly in front of them. Several bolts struck the plane, bathing the cockpit in light.

"I CAN'T KEEP IT STEADY!" he yelled fighting the plane and losing.

The whine of the engines began to get louder and higher as the shaking intensified. Sayid glanced at the airspeed indicator. It was rising fast. The overspeed(4) alarm went off, a clicking sound. Desperately, he throttled back the engines, but to no avail. The lights in the cockpit flickered on and off as the plane shook at a nightmarish level.

Jehan began praying. In all his years of flying he had never experience turbulence like this. He was fighting the airplane for control and it seemed he was losing. Lightning struck the plane, the cockpit shone like a beacon…

Just as quickly as they had come upon the storm, a feeling of weightlessness befell Flight 370. The crew and passengers felt their skin tingle, as if static electricity made their hair stand up. It lasted only an instant and then gravity took hold again. The unsecured items in the cabin that had floated in that instant came crashing down. But this was the least of the passengers' notice.

Jehan and Sayid were among the first to notice.

The shaking had stopped. The lightning had stopped. The sun shone brightly outside. White clouds floated by. By now the rest of the passengers, who until now had been praying, screaming, and contemplating what they'd thought would be their final moments now stared outside in confusion. The storm which many had thought to be their doom was nowhere to be seen. Sunlight streamed into the plane when clocks still read 02:16 AM.

Noticing they were no longer at risk of overspeed, Jehan quickly brought the throttles back up to normal thrust and leveled the plane off with the horizon. He looked around trying to get a sense of where they were and what had happened. It was then he noticed the moon. Or rather moons. Two of them. One pink and one blue.

* * *

(1) = meaning they've lost the satellite necessary for navigation

(2) = PAN PAN PAN is code for urgency aboard an aircraft, but that at the time, there is no immediate danger to anyone's life or the plane itself. It is one step below declaring a MAYDAY. It lets the controllers and other aircraft in the vicinity to that there is a problem.

(3) = Visual Flight Rules. AKA: flying manually

(4) = Overspeed means the aircraft is exceeding the recommended safe speed limits. Doing so may damage the control surfaces or the airframe

* * *

**AN: This is my first story and it was inspired by the ongoing mystery and investigation of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. I do not mean to offend anyone by writing this. My thoughts are with the family and loved ones of those who were on the flight. The names of the flight crew have been changed out of respect for their families and loved ones.  
**

**Offensive reviews will be removed. It is my hope that the investigation soon reveals exactly what happened on MH370 and what can be done to prevent such a tragedy and mystery from happening again.  
**


	2. Bad Luck and Bad Memories

**AN: I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of reviews in such a short time. Nearly all have been positive. This is a quick chapter. This one will deviate a bit from the previous one in order to introduce our OC protagonist. More will be explained on why he is our protagonist later. For now, this is a quick chapter to explain his back story. I went through several drafts of this, including one which had me with tears in my eyes. I opted to be merciful though. Still, this might come off a bit angsty and depressing but I assure you it's necessary for what I have planned. Reading this, read the (flash) parts as if it were a movie. Like memory, (flash), next memory. I mean when was the last time you had a linear memory? Memories usually consist of brief moments in real life. Now for some review replies:**

**Wormhole conspiracy theory Guest: I have heard of the conspiracies, including the wormhole one, but it's not strictly why I decided to write it. I watched the History Channel Special Ghost Planes and thought "What if it ended up summoned to Halkeginia?" Then I thought "Now there's an idea". That "A-Ha!" moment was what finally pushed me to actually start writing after a year and a half of merely reading on FF. Don't worry, you'll find out how the plane ended up in Halkeginia soon enough.**

**Firem78910: This story takes place a few years after the anime.**

**Guest: For your question on if they've found the plane in real life, the answer is not yet.**

**coronadomontes: Entiendo tu preocupacion. En escribir esto, estoy teniendo MUCHO cuidado con lo que escribo para honrar a los familiares y queridos de los que iban en el avion.**

******My update schedule is not set in stone unfortunately. I have a general idea of where I want the story to go but I'm leaving room for flexibility. In an ideal world, I'd hammer out an update a day but unfortunately, I'm not comfortable enough with my writing to be able to do that. These first few updates will be quick but after that I have no guarantees. Please keep in mind this is my FIRST story on this site. So bear with me.**

* * *

On board the displaced Malaysian airliner in a strange land, one young passenger cursed his rotten luck.

_Why the hell is this happening to me? _he thought. Looking back at how he ended up on a nearly crashing airliner, Victor de la Fuente remembered. _Traffic_ he thought. _So much for the advances modern civilization if you can't even get to the damn airport on time. _

He'd made it to the gate at Kuala Lumpur at 12:06 PM, just in time to see the doors close to the flight. _2 minutes _he thought. _Missed it by 2 minutes… _Instead, of boarding the plane, he'd been forced to watch the plane leave without him, feeling as if the plane was mocking him as it left the gate.

Accepting his rotten luck, the 22 year old had forced himself to walk to the Malaysia Airlines customer service counter, wait in line for an hour, only to hear someone tell him "Plenty of flights to Beijing. All full though. You need to go to gates and go on standby."

He'd been forced to spend the next 12 hours walking from gate to gate, waiting in uncertainty on standby for each flight. With each flight leaving without him, he grew more and more frustrated.

Finally, the last flight of the day. The red-eye Malaysia 370. A Boeing 777. _Well at least the plane's big and comfortable_ he'd thought. Once again he'd found himself waiting on standby.

Luckily, although he was no longer counting himself lucky considering his current predicament, he'd made it aboard. _Finally some good luck _he'd thought. He'd quickly fallen asleep, exhausted from the day's events as the plane climbed out to its cruise altitude.

He'd been awoken by the captain's announcement that they were diverting to Penang.

_Great_ he'd thought. _So much for my good luck_. His luck however, had turned out to be much, much worse. As he'd noticed when the shaking began.

He'd flown on planes all his life and had spent the last 4 months flying and travelling across the world and he'd never felt a plane shake this much.

As the plane nearly shook itself apart, lightning began to flash outside in the dark. The cabin lights flickered. He could see the wingtip lights through the window. The wings were warping back and forth, the plane was shaking so much.

Someone screamed and as he felt the plane drop several times, he'd found himself thinking of his parents. _Mami, Papi, if this ends how I think it's going to end, I'll be with you soon._

He could hear the engines winding up. The shaking continued. The oxygen masks deployed and he grabbed one, never once thinking he'd ever use one in his life.

His mind wandered back to the safety videos they show before each flight. How calm the people putting the masks on in the video seemed.

Looking around, people were frantically reaching for their masks, their panic visible as they struggled to put them on.

The shaking was like being on roller coaster and a high speed boat on choppy water at the same time. He closed his eyes and waited.

And then the shaking stopped. The engines' whine died down. He felt light on his eyelids. Slowly opening his eyes he noticed the sunlight through the window next to him. _Is this it?_ he wondered. _Am I dead?_

Slowly, he removed his mask as he saw other passengers doing the same.

Looking around him, he noticed nearly every one of his fellow passengers were just as stumped. Hearing the engines throttle up, he noticed through the breaks in the clouds that they were flying above a vast forest. _If this is heaven, it's not at all what I was expecting. _He looked around and that's when he noticed them.

Twin moons in the sky, one pink, one blue.

_Well_ he thought. _This is different_. _Am I really dead or what?_ he wondered. He pinched himself. Fully awake. He picked a scab he'd picked up in Malaysia. It drew blood. _Ok, it seems I'm not dead._

They continued flying for some time, each passing moment the other passengers wondering just where the hell they were.

The pilots at the front hadn't said anything. The flight attendants looked just as confused. Waiting for news from the cockpit, Victor looked at the passing scenery below.

He'd occasionally notice small villages with no paved roads, which wasn't surprising if they were somehow still over Malaysia. But somehow a nagging feeling crept into the back of his head. Something didn't seem right to him about this.

Of course, things hadn't been right in his life for a while now…

_Flashback 1 year ago _

He'd been out with his friends celebrating someone's 21st birthday, when the call came in.

(flash)

His parents had been hit by a drunk driver. The officer making the call had paused. Tears welled up in Victor's eyes. Hesitantly, he asked what had happened.

(flash)

The phone fell from his hands. His knees felt weak. Victor didn't remember what had happened next after hearing the officer's words. His friends would later tell him he'd collapsed in the middle of the street sobbing.

(flash timeskip)

_Cold. _He felt cold, he noticed. Perhaps it was the temperature of the morgue. Or perhaps it was the hole in his heart as he looked upon the bodies of his parents.

The crash had killed them instantly. Though their faces were cut and bruised, he could still see his mother's gentle smile on her now lifeless face. His father's warm blue eyes were closed shut forever and yet he could still see them looking at him with a kind expression.

Hazily, he nodded to the medical examiner.

"Yes. That's them. That's my parents" he confirmed, his eyes long out of tears to shed.

(flash timeskip)

He'd lost track of how long he'd been standing there. Staring. Rain had begun to fall earlier, as if the heavens themselves wept at his tragedy. But he didn't notice it. Victor felt empty inside. He stared at the two headstones marking the freshly dug graves that now held his family.

The few members of his family that were left had all but gone by now. His uncle was the only one standing with him.

"Victor" he said. "We should go."

Victor didn't say anything as he began walking towards the car.

_End Flashback_

His parents had left him quite a bit of money. But all the money in the world could not fill the hole in Victor's heart.

For the next 6 months, he had spent his days shut in inside his parents' house in Chicago. His healing heart had help from an unexpected source: Spring. Seeing the renewal of things as Spring turned his gray world green helped him start to heal. Despite this, there was still a hole in his heart. He didn't know what he would do now, what he could do now.

Finally deciding to do something, he'd packed his bags and left his parents' home.

He'd traveled to South America, to Europe, to Africa, and Asia. For the next 4 months he flew, drove, hitchhiked, walked, and traveled across the world, searching for a new meaning in his empty life.

It was this search that saw him traveling through Southeast Asia, and his current predicament of being on-board a malfunctioning airplane flying high above a strange land.

Shaking his mind of such memories, he leaned back in his seat waiting for the pilots to say something on exactly where they were, the twin moons hanging in the sky.

* * *

**AN: So some of you may be wondering why I killed off Victor's parents. I needed something that would drive him to seek out a new purpose, and eventually end up in Malaysia on the plane. Trust me, it will become clear soon. Also you may be wondering why I chose then name Victor. Several reasons: I was a little selfish and wanted a character who could speak Spanish, as I do. I also wanted an exotic sounding name that one would normally not hear in Halkeginia. Mind you, he may be Hispanic, but he's lived in the US all his life, so he's also knows as Vic, and he usually goes by that name. However, since this chapter is mostly in his mind, he knows himself as Victor. Lastly, Victor is a powerful sounding name which I felt fit with what is to come.**

**For a picture of what Victor looks like, check out my profile. Or just google Kazuma from Kaze no Stigma**


	3. Old Friends and New Problems

**AN: Ok longest chapter thus far. Here we finally see our FOZ characters appear. The story takes place a few years after the end of the anime. And before I go any further, if you haven't finished the anime, read on at your own risk. **

**For the sake of slightly more realism, the story of Louise and Saito in the anime is changed a bit.****I realize this is nitpicking but I'm a sucker for detail. **

**Louise did not whip Saito during the anime. Whipping means Saito would have scars all over his body. If you've seen pictures of what whipping does, then you'll know. This Saito has more backbone. Sure Louise was tsundere and knowing Saito if he did something stupid or whatever she'd either blow him up (her explosions in these cases were small blasts that merely threw him a few feet rather than the giant booms we all know [seriously, explosions that big would have killed him or caused severe internal injury]) or smack him on the head. Saito wasn't the overly perverted spineless kid that we know. Sure he had a few perverted tendencies, especially when surrounded by Kirche, Siesta, Henrietta, and Tiffania. But let's be real. He was 17-18 years old and single. Probably a virgin too (whoa did I just go there? But seriously, a glance at a pair of boobs was enough to set him drooling). However here if Louise pushed him too hard, he'd stand up for himself.**

**This Saito is also smarter than cannon. For example, when Saito decided to go get a jet fighter from Earth to fight the Ancient Dragon, he didn't go alone. Louise went with him. But they weren't the only ones. They took Tiffania and Tabitha with them too. The reason? It's something that bothered me immensely about the anime. **

**HOW THE HELL DID SAITO SNEAK INTO A JASDF AIR BASE AND MAKE OFF WITH A $100 MILLION DOLLAR FIGHTER WITHOUT BEEING SEEN MUCH LESS SHOT? **

**And so, for the sake of realism, they went in together, under the cover of night, using Tabitha to hide them with illusion magic and Tiffania to memory wipe anyone who did manage to spot them. Saito started the jet up, and taxied it into a World Door and back to Halkeginia. Yes Louise could make a world door that big but it took an enormous amount of concentration and willpower and she nearly collapsed afterwards from exhaustion (if you're wondering how she was able to hold it big and long enough to fit a jet in when she was barely able to hold it open within Halkeginia without Saito's Lisdrafir power, let's just say she trained her willpower reserves up in order to rely on Lisdrafir as little as possible after learning of its potential effects on Saito)**

**During the battle, rather than fly the jet into the Ancient Dragon and eject, he unloaded every weapon on the plane into the dragon, including the cannons and then used all his Lisdrafir power to fuel a gargantuan explosion by Louise which obliterated the dragon. After the battle, the Lisdafir runes disappeared after he landed the plane. So he still has the jet stored at a makeshift hangar near Des Ornieres, along the same flat area where Colbert keeps the Ostland.**

**A LOT of exposition in this chapter simply because many years have passed, I have to cover what everyone has been doing and what's been going on. I also need to set up for future events.**

**Alright enough of me ranting and rambling. Let me answer a few reviews and we'll get on with the story.**

**coronadomontes: Paciencia que ya mismo veras.**

**lordrednight: I'll admit when I started the story, I wanted to keep it serious while being sensitive to the fact that this was based on a real life event and that there are people who still don't know the fate of their loved ones. However, I think you'll like where I'm going to go with this. **

**Guest: yes this is based off a real flight. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing which disappeared on March 8, 2014 and has yet to be found.**

**Now on with the story:**

* * *

_Earlier that same day_

The sun shone through the window of the master bedroom of the Des Ornieres Estate, casting its brightness on one of the occupants of the room.

_Ugh… _he thought. _Damn you sunlight. Why did I forget to close the curtains? _he wondered. He flipped the covers off himself and sat up on the side of the bed and looked outside at the window. The sun was just high enough to peek above the trees.

Giving his back a stretch and hearing a few satisfying cracks, Saito Hiraga de Ornieres stood up and gazed at the forest outside.

If one were to look at Saito as he'd looked all those years ago fighting the Ancient Dragon, he'd barely be recognizable anymore.

He'd always been a short skinny kid but a mere few months after permanently relocating to Des Ornieres, he'd begun a growth spurt that had, in his own personal opinion, been long overdue.

His face had become more masculine and his hair had grown longer and wilder. His facial hair had also begun to grow, though he preferred to keep it shaven.

Perhaps the most striking change was his physique. After years of training with swords, his muscles had grown impressively (1). As had his skill with swords. He could now easily wield a large two handed sword with one hand. It hadn't always been like that though.

After Derflinger's old body was destroyed, he'd resided in Saito's runes for a while. At least until Bidashal had been able to enchant a blade to be strong enough to accept Derf and helped him transfer Derf's consciousness into the new blade.

The sword was about the same length as Derf but that is where the similarities ended. Its grip was longer, allowing for easy two-handed wielding.

A large crossguard on one side jutted out at a 45 degree angle downwards, protecting his hand. The guard formed a diamond in the center which turned into the blade.

The blade was slightly wider than Derf. It curved slightly upwards on the blunt edge of the sword. Additionally, the sword was much heavier than Derf (2).

Though his Gandalfr runes gave him enhanced speed and strength, Saito had struggled to hold it in one hand at first. As his muscles grew however, he'd eventually became skilled and strong enough to wield it in one hand.

As Saito stood up, he looked over to the bed, smiling happily at seeing the other occupant of the bed still fast asleep.

Louise had also changed quite a bit the past few years. She was no longer the short, petite, tsundere Saito had met all those years ago at the Academy.

Like Saito, Louise had undergone a growth spurt about a year after the Ancient Dragon Crisis. She'd grown taller. And most importantly, at least in her opinion, puberty had finally caught up to her.

Her chest, which had been the source of much jealousy and misfortune, at least for Saito, had grown out to almost the size of her sister Cattleya's, much to Siesta's dismay. The maid's most powerful weapon in teasing Saito and getting a rise out of her pink-haired mistress had now been rendered useless.

Indeed, Louise's resemblance to Cattleya now was almost uncanny. The only difference between the two was that Louise had the sharp eyes of her mother, whereas her sister's eyes were softer and gentler. Additionally, her chest was not nearly as large as her older sister's (3).

Louise's physical appearance wasn't the only thing that had changed. Saito remembered exactly when he'd first noticed the changes in her personality.

During one of their visits to the in-laws in Japan, Saito's father had jokingly commented that there must be something in the water at Des Ornieres seeing as the both of them had grown so quickly, especially Louise. Saito's face had paled at the implications of this comment and he'd nearly instinctively ducked, expecting an explosion to be flung at his father.

However, surprisingly, Louise had simply smiled and laughed it off.

_She really has changed_ he thought looking at her sleep. _Of course she'll never admit that. She's too damn proud to admit it_. Louise's demeanor had definitely changed the past few years. Rather than exploding at the slightest provocation of any kind, she'd become more tolerant and her attitude had brightened somewhat. Her tsundere tendencies had diminished.

She'd come to realize that Saito loved her no matter what and that she loved him just as much. She'd come to trust him immensely. And she'd realized that Saito was his own person and that she couldn't control every aspect of his life.

Saito grabbed a shirt and went downstairs for breakfast. Siesta was already in the kitchen along with the other kitchen staff. Having known Saito the longest, she'd been made the head of housing for the Des Ornieres Estate. She'd changed a bit as well since the Ancient Dragon Crisis. She'd grown a bit taller but still retained her youthful and Japanese looks.

"Good morning Siesta" greeted Saito, walking into the kitchen.

"Oh! Lord Saito! Good morning. Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Siesta. For the last time. Please call me Saito. You've known me for four years. I'd think we'd gotten past formalities. Besides, it's just us at Des Ornieres. No uptight nobles around here. And yeah I slept pretty well. How was your night?" he replied.

"I slept well. You really do spoil us Lo… I mean Saito. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Sure. I'll take some eggs and buttered bread for now. Louise might be down in a few minutes so can you make one for her too?."

"Of course, my lord" she replied.

"Siestaaa…. What did I just say about formalities?" he chided.

"Eep! Sorry!" she apologized.

Saito merely smiled. They'd known each other for years and she still could not help addressing him formally since he'd been awarded his lands and nobility.

Leaving the kitchen Saito went back upstairs to see if Louise was awake yet. He found her still fast asleep so he kissed her on her pink head to wake her.

"Mmmmm well that's one way to be woken up in the morning."

"Morning Louise. Sleep well?" he asked.

"Well enough if it weren't for a certain loud mouthed familiar snoring half the night" she replied.

"Sorry I snore! I can't do anything when I'm sleeping!" he remarked, trying to defend himself.

"Hmph. I guess I'll have to forgive you for that. Just this once" she replied smiling. Even after a few years of Louise's changed demeanor, she still liked jokingly reverting to her tsundere tendencies to get a rise out of her husband.

They both went down to the kitchen where Siesta was laying down Saito and Louise's breakfast.

Saito and Louise did things a bit differently from other nobles. Saito was never one for formalities and lavish meals. Their meals were not a massive banquet, their formal dining room with its large table was only used when company was over.

Instead, they ate at a smaller table near the kitchens, making the kitchen staff's jobs much easier.

As breakfast was eaten, small talk regarding the day's plans crossed the table. Mainly, the talk had to do with Saito and Louise's planned visit to the Academy that afternoon.

Things had changed at the academy after the Ancient Dragon Crisis. Nearly two years after the events of that day, Old Osmond had finally passed away at the ripe old age of 88. In his stead, Professor Jean Colbert had been named headmaster.

Colbert's tenure as headmaster had brought about a new era of magical and technological learning. Thanks in no small part to Saito's providing of materials from his many trips to Earth, the academy had become the leading institution in research for the advancement of technology in Halkeginia.

Already, research was being made into combustion engines. Colbert was intent on replicating the incredible engine of the Zero and upgrading the Ostland's engines with combustion engines rather than coal and steam engines.

Knowing how the technological revolution had gone in his world, Saito had told Colbert about the First Industrial Revolution back on Earth, and coached him on what had been done right, and what could have been done better.

The last thing Saito wanted was Tristain becoming a dirty, polluted, industrial country like England had become during the dawn of the Industrial Age.

Thus Saito had become the de-facto expert on any artifacts or technology that made it into Halkeginia, whether by the mysterious means by which technology from Earth appeared in Halkeginia or by Saito bringing knowledge, technology, and artifacts back from Earth.

Saito had also taken it upon himself to find and safeguard any dangerous technologies that might make it to Halkeginia. Already in his manor, he had an arsenal of weapons he'd found that could arm a small village.

Any attempts at stealing said arsenal had been discouraged by the fact that the Earth-born lord's wife had blown up the last person who'd tried to enter the vault below his house. This particular thief had been lucky to hobble away with his remaining leg.

The visit to the Academy today had been unexpected. Not two days prior, Saito had received a letter from Headmaster Colbert requesting his and Louise's presence at the Academy at the earliest convenience. The letter had failed to mention much more than that, something that Saito had noticed.

However, it was beyond him to refuse the letter. After all, he thought, he hadn't visited the Academy in a while and was overdue to drop by. Being only about an hour's ride away, the trip wouldn't take too long. Additionally, they'd get to see Tiffania.

The unprecedented cooperation of humans and elves during the Ancient Dragon Crisis had not gone unnoticed. After the Dragon's defeat, the hatred between humans and elves had slowly begun to disappear and the rift between the two races had begun to mend.

Though some of the more radical nobles and religious Halkeginians still called for the extermination of the Elves and reclamation of the Holy Land, the overwhelming fear of Elves that had for so long gripped Halkeginia had diminished somewhat.

Tiffania had become somewhat of a celebrity at the Academy for her role in fighting alongside Saito and Louise. After Colbert took over as headmaster, he'd offered her a teaching position to teach about their pointy-eared fellow sapients from the East. She also taught alteration spells, mainly memory, illusion, and healing spells. When she wasn't teaching, she lived at Des Ornieres along with Saito and Louise.

Though some cried heresy at the thought of an elf teaching at The Academy, many saw it as a sign of new times and tolerance and cooperation between the two races.

Saito and Louise hadn't seen her in months and this trip might be a good time for them to catch up. They finished their breakfast and left to pack for the short trip.

As Saito packed a small bag, his mind wondered back to his parents.

_I wonder how they're doing _he asked himself.

He hadn't seen them since winter when he and Louise had gone over for Christmas. However, it wasn't for lack of trying.

For the past few weeks, Louise had been having trouble establishing a solid connection to Earth with her World Door. She'd get a connection, however, it would not hold for very long. The destination, which was normally his parent's house, would sometimes shift, as if jumping around. Not wanting to risk losing a limb, he'd opted to avoid travelling to Japan via the World Door for now.

The connection to Earth wasn't the only problem. The World Door connections within Halkeginia were becoming slightly problematic as well. Though they worked relatively well, there had been instances where their destination had been off by a few hundred meters.

Additionally, whenever they went through the door, it always seemed like his hair would stand up on end, as if the entire portal was statically charged. Lighting would sometimes seem to dance near the edges. He'd even gotten shocked the last two times he'd traveled through it.

Which was why, for this trip to the Academy, they'd opted to simply ride their horses there.

Finished packing, he grabbed his favorite outfit for the trip to the Academy and headed downstairs to wait for Louise. His outfit was a turquoise robe with some plate armor on his chest and a blue cape (4). He'd long since ditched that old sweatshirt he'd been summoned in but blue remained his favorite color.

Louise finally came down, all packed. She was wearing a simple light colored riding dress, with her noble's cloak. Ready to leave, they left for the stables.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

The ride to the Academy was not a long one. Rather than take a carriage, Saito and Louise rode their horses straight there. Going at a decent canter, they arrived in little more than an hour. Upon walking through the gates and to the Stables, they came across a familiar face. The head chef, Marteau.

"Our Sword! And Lady Valliere! What a pleasant surprise it is to see the two of you here!" he waved.

"Marteau! It's been too long!" replied Saito, walking over and shaking his hand.

"Chef Marteau" greeted Louise cordially.

"I see Siesta's been keeping the two of you well fed"

"Yes, she has. Sorry we kinda stole her from you" Saito retorted sheepishly.

"Think nothing of it! From what I've seen in her letters to the staff here, she's well off at your estate"

"Well we do our best to make sure our staff are kept happy" added Louise.

"Believe me when I say that is a fact we commoners are eternally grateful for. It seems your philosophy has caught on here as well. When Headmaster Colbert took over, we here were given a nice raise. And it seems that since then, the students here also treat us quite cordially." he replied.

"A lot of things have changed from back then" added Louise. "My apologies if I was ever rude to you or the staff"

"Oh please. With what the two of you have done for us and the country, no apology is necessary. Feel free to stop by the kitchens later for something fresh!" he smiled. "Unfortunately, I'm needed in the kitchens so I must take my leave"

"No, of course Marteau. We're actually here on business so don't let us keep you. We'll try to stop by later!" replied Saito. Marteau smiled and walked off to the kitchens.

As Saito and Louise started up towards the central tower and headmaster's office, Louise couldn't help but reminisce on her days as a student. _Things were so different back then _she thought. _I was different back then_ she thought bittersweetly. Looking at Saito, she noticed he seemed to be reminiscing as well.

_I guess I didn't treat him very well at first _she thought, slightly ashamed at herself. Yet despite all that, the young boy she'd unwittingly pulled into a world not of his own had grown fond of her and even fallen in love with her, despite all that. And she'd done the same.

She grabbed his hand and held it as they walked into the Alviss hall, Saito smiling at this. There were a few students in the hall reading or studying. The couple quickly scurried to the stairs to avoid any admirers. Their status as demi-celebrities after defeating the Ancient Dragon, along with their rather unique appearances made it quite easy to recognize them.

Walking up the stairs, they made it to the Headmaster's office. Knocking, they were let in by the secretary. At the far end of the office sat Jean Colbert, now headmaster of the Academy.

"Ah. Sir Saito and Lady Louise. I'm glad you could make it. I saw you ride in. I hope the ride wasn't too tiring" he greeted.

"Of course not Headmaster. It was a pleasant ride" replied Louise.

"How have things been here?" asked Saito.

"Well the new curriculums have officially been implemented. I've been making progress on that combustion engine you showed me... The tricky part is getting the right fuel mixture for the engine. For some reason it simply blows up for me" he added sheepishly. "I can't get it to work quite as well as that Metal Drag... er… aero plane? That we found in Tarbles. However, there is another matter I must attend to, which is why I've called for you two" replied Colbert.

"What can we help you with headmaster?" asked Louise.

"Marie Ann" he said, turning to his secretary. "Would you be a dear and go find Professor Westwood and ask her to join us here? Then afterwards, why don't you go get yourself a nice cup of tea? It is quite a lovely day today".

"Of course professor" replied the secretary, excusing herself.

"As to your question Lady Valliere, it involves Miss Westwood. However, this discussion would be better suited if we were to wait for the professor to join us" he told Louise.

As they waited, small talk was exchanged. The talk quickly turned to the upcoming familiar summoning ceremony. The staff were concerned about the ceremony due to certain incidents with summoning that had occurred at other magic institutions.

Despite the Tristain Academy's prestige, it wasn't the only magic school in Halkeginia. There were several schools in Halkeginia and Germania, including the Founder's Academy in Romalia, the Gallian School of Magic, and the Germanian Zauber-Akademie. The Albionian school, the Larkwood Academy, was expected to reopen soon, after being destroyed during the war with Reconquista.

The Springtime Familiar Summoning Ceremony was something that was practiced at all schools. All the ceremonies were conducted in the first week of spring, with each country's schools doing theirs on a different day.

However, concerns had arisen among the staff at Tristain due to reports that mages in all schools were having trouble summoning their familiars. For some reason, the portals weren't appearing right away as was normal. Louise had been particularly troubled at this news. She remembered the violent summoning that had brought Saito to her world had actually taken several tries.

_They can't all be Void mages. So what exactly is happening? _she wondered.

And there were times when the portals appeared that they seemed unstable. There'd even been reports of familiars coming through the portal injured, with what seemed like lightning based burns. All this was concerning because Tristain's turn was coming up in two days.

_Could this be connected to my troubles with the World Door? _she asked herself.

Her musing and the idle chit-chat between Saito and Colbert were interrupted when the door opened and in stepped the girl who'd also once been her familiar's summoner.

Tiffania Westwood hadn't changed all that much the past four years. She'd grown slightly taller. However, her face still retained the beauty and youth she'd had when they'd first met. Her more than ample assets remained as impressive as ever.

Though Louise was no longer jealous, seeing as her own breasts had grown out impressively, she couldn't help but wonder how Tiffania's had gotten so big. She was wearing the blue wizard robes and cape that were standard for professors at the academy. However, her impressive bust still stood out.

"Saito! Louise!" she said walking over to them.

"Tiffa! It's been a while!" replied Saito giving her a hug.

"It's good to see you again Tiffania" said Louise, getting a hug from the blonde half-elf as well.

"Yes. We haven't seen each other since winter. How have you two been?"

"Very well. The seeds were planted on schedule and we should have another harvest of fine wine by summer" replied Louise.

After catching up briefly, the three sat down with Colbert and got down to business.

"Very well. Now that we're all here, let's get down to why I asked all of you here" he stated bluntly.

"As you know, four years ago, Miss Westwood performed the summon servant spell in Romalia, apparently summoning Lord Saito here through the portal. Though the runes were imprinted much later, the fact remains that you, Saito, were her familiar. The legendary Lifdrasir if memory serves correctly."

"Until, that is, the power of the Lifdrasir was depleted during the Ancient Dragon Crisis. As a result of that, the runes that marked you as the Lifdrasir disappeared, which means that your contract with Miss Westwood has disappeared as well. Meaning, you are no longer her familiar."

Listening to this, Saito's and Louise's eyes widened. _He's right _they both thought. Delfringer chose that time to pop out of his sheathe.

"He's right partner. When the Lifdrasir magic was all used up, the contract between the two of you disappeared. That means the big chested girl there has been without a familiar since then" he said.

Tiffania blushed at the comment about her appearance, her ears slightly drooped. Saito scoffed and had a frown on his face looking at the sword on his back.

"You realize she has a name you stupid sword" retorted Louise angrily.

"Eh, you humans and elves all look alike. I've been around for 6000 years and I still don't understand why you hated each other when the only difference was your ears. Partner here's the only human that I remember" he repled.

"Well Derf, try to remember. Her name is Tiffania. You wouldn't want me calling you 'that inconsiderate sword I carry on my back' would you?" chided Saito.

"Hey! I'm the Great Derflinger! I've fought countless battles! I'm the all-powerful sword of…" the rest was cut off as Saito merely pushed the sword back into its sheathe.

"In any case, Master Derflinger is correct. For the past four years, Miss Westwood has been without a familiar.. A fact she recently realized when talk of the upcoming Summoning Ceremony came up. As you know, mages require familiars to aid them in everyday life and, God forbid, aid them in battle should it be necessary. A familiar is a rite of passage for any mage and a sign that the mage has progressed into the responsibilities that come with the magic that runs through our bodies."

"Additionally, Miss Westwood requires a familiar due to her status as a Void mage. Similar to when the Mad King Joseph was killed, and Queen Charlotte's twin sister Josette summoned Julio Cesare as her familiar, making her the Gallian Void mage. Thus it is imperative that she summon a familiar as soon as is convenient, something the new pope has personally instructed and Miss Westwood has agreed to already."

"However that brings up another concern. Since we know Miss Westwood is a void mage, if she summons a familiar, based on what we've seen with void mages, chances are she'll end up summoning a human. Which brings us to why we asked you here Lord Hiraga. With your experience as a Void Familiar, it is logical that you be here to assist whoever it is Miss Westwood summons in adjusting to his or her new role as a familiar" finished Colbert.

Saito nodded.

"Good idea. I was scared and confused when I got summoned and had no idea what was going on. It's not something I'd wish on anyone. I'll help them adjust" he replied.

Looking at Tiffa, he saw a smile on her face. She knew she could count on her friend to help her.

Colbert turned back to Louise.

"Now, Lady Valliere, the reason I for you to meet with me today relates back to our conversation before Miss Westwood joined us. In the matter of the incidents with summoning, I wanted to ask you if you had any idea what may be causing such occurrences."

Louise was unsure of how to proceed. On the one hand, she had no idea why the summonings were being problematic. On the other hand, she had a strong feeling that the summoning incidents and her trouble with the World Doors were connected.

She explained to Colbert that though she had no idea why the summonings were being problematic, she herself had had trouble with her World Doors.

"Hmm this is most troubling indeed. And you believe the two are connected?" he asked.

Louise merely nodded.

"Well then this brings me back to Miss Westwood's summoning. She's agreed to do it today with the two of you present. The reason for this is twofold. One, we'll be able to find Miss Westwood a familiar as quickly as possible. And two, we'll be able to observe any anomalies with the summoning process and determine if there is any danger to the students when they conduct their summoning in two days' time. Are we all in agreement then?" he asked.

The three nodded.

"Very well then. Why don't we have lunch first and then we'll proceed with the summoning."

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Being the Day of Void, the students had the day off. As such, the dining room was not too crowded as most students preferred their meals in their own rooms. After a brief lunch, the Void trio and Colbert, as well as Professor Chevreuse proceeded to the Vestri Court for the summoning.

Giving Tiffania plenty of room, Colbert spoke.

"Whenever you're ready Miss Westwood."

Tiffania felt confident in herself but part of her was concerned that something would happen during the summoning. Steeling herself, she raised her want in front of her and began her incantation.

"My name is Tiffania Westwood. Pentagon that governs the five elements. Heed my call and bring forth my familiar".

The massive white orb of light that signaled the familiar summoning portal appeared in front of Tiffania. She stood waiting for her familiar to appear. And waited. And waited. And waited. A minute passed. Then two. Then three. By now Tiffania's arm began getting tired and starting drooping down. However the orb remained stationary.

Colbert, Chevreuse, Saito, and Louise looked on in confusion. By now the commotion had drawn the students that were outside and they looked on at what they hoped to be performing in a mere two days.

Tiffania slowly put her arm down and yet the orb remained in front of her. The minutes began to tick by.

"I don't understand" said Colbert. "Surely by now the spell should have found someone."

"Perhaps it's having trouble bringing the familiar here. Perhaps the familiar in question may be someone from Lord Saito's world?" added Chevreuse.

Saito paled at this possibility. If the familiar was indeed someone from Earth, they'd be in for the shock of their lives.

The minutes continued to tick by. Soon, nearly an hour had gone by and the orb had remained, looming ominously in the middle of the Vestri Court. If one looked closely, one would see small sparks dancing around the edge of the orb.

"This is most unusual" Colbert finally said. "I've never heard of a summoning taking so long."

Tiffania was the most confused of all. By now, she'd sat down and was patiently waiting for her summons to appear. She knew the spell was working because she could feel it pulling at her magic reserves. Though she had quite a bit of magic left, she knew she'd eventually have to terminate the spell or it would drain her and leave her unconscious, or worse dead.

The students that had gathered out of curiosity had all gone by now. The only ones left besides her were Saito, Louise, Colbert, and Chevreuse.

As she wondered exactly what she'd done wrong, the floating orb suddenly took off at great speed towards a great altitude. It kept climbing and climbing. Higher and higher it went, until it was touching the clouds.

It began to grow to a great size as it climbed through the clouds. Then a great white flash appeared within the clouds. Its brightness was overwhelming. Tiffania had to shut her eyes, as did everyone else who was watching. To an observer, it looked as if a miniature sun was being born within the cloud. Lightning sparked in the cloud, and thunder shook her eardrums.

And just as suddenly as the orb had exploded, the blinding brightness died down and everyone looked up to see what Tiffania had summoned. Of the bright orb of light, nothing but clouds remained. However, there was a sound emanating from the cloud.

It was faint at first, but it grew louder rather quickly.

To nearly everyone there, it sounded like the noise one would make to shush someone. The noise had everyone wondering exactly what was making it and if the source was indeed what Tiffania had managed to summon.

To Saito's ears however, the sound made a chill go down his spine. _No way_ he thought. Looking intently at the clouds, he focused on the sound. _It can't be. _There was only one thing he could think of that made that particular sound.

A very specific piece of technology from his homeworld.

Focusing on the cloud, he was the first to see it.

The others gathered in the field saw it too. To them it looked like a giant dragon which seemed to be made of metal traveling extremely fast. It emerged from the clouds and continued on over the forests to the northwest of the Academy, nearly following the road that would lead one to the Des Ornieres Estate.

Everyone was baffled as to what that was and where it was going. Saito however knew exactly what it was. However unlikely, he knew. And he paled at the repercussions of what had just happened.

It all became clear now to Saito. Why the summoning had taken so long.

Tiffania's familiar had been a passenger on board a commercial airliner.

And somehow, she'd managed to bring the entire plane to Halkeginia along with them and presumably, everyone else on board.

* * *

(1): I did a lot of research into a character who looks like Saito four years into living in Halkeginia. The best I could come up with is Akatsuki Ousawa from Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero. See my profile for a link to a picture. Same hair, similar face and eyes. He's pretty muscular but hell, if you'd been training with a heavy sword for four years, you'd be looking built as hell.

(2): For the sword, I found something on DeviantArt that looked pretty cool. Check out my profile for a picture.

(3): For Louise 4 years later, check out my profile for a picture of Cattleya that's close enough.

(4): For Saito's outfit, look up Ryner Lute's outfit from Legend of the Legendary Heroes. There's a link on my profile.

**AN: So, we finally see how MH370 ended up in Halkeginia. I KNOW QUITE A FEW OF YOU SAID SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF "THANK GOD THIS ISN'T A LOUISE SUMMONS X STORY" in the reviews but the way I saw the story going, I needed a mechanism to bring the plane to Halkeginia and this was the best one. Also, the summoning will set up something I have planned. But trust me when I say, things are a lot more complicated than a mere summoning. Let's just say the summoning is a catalyst that will set off a chain of events that will affect both Earth and Halkeginia (hint, read the story's new title)**


	4. Intercepts and Procedures

**Before we begin, let me answer a review that brought up a good discussion point:  
**

**Demosthenes2211: I'm glad you're enjoying it. Initially, I will admit I thought this would just be a one shot set during the canon story but I decided against it for several reasons: 1, It gave me a bit of liberty as to where the story would go when I decided to do a full-fledged story rather than a one-shot. 2, it let me introduce an OC which I've been wanting to insert into the FOZ universe since last year and put him in a situation I've been itching to put him in. And 3, it let me age the FOZ characters a bit and mature them. FOZ was a bit simplistic in its storyline and characters. Classic harem type anime in the later seasons. Dumb pervert falls in love with tsundere while other, actually nice girls are all crushing on him. Seems a little simple and unrealistic to me. Plus, they all looked like they were a few years younger than they actually were. So I aged them a bit and changed their appearances to correspond to a few years' passage.**

**Now, for another chapter of Convergence.**

* * *

Tiffania stared on in shock. Just what exactly had she just summoned? Why was it flying away from the Academy? And why did Saito look like he'd seen a ghost?

Saito, on the other hand, was horrified at the implications of what had just happened. Tiffania had summoned not one, but potentially hundreds of people from Earth. Any one of them could be her familiar. Not to mention the fact that the flight would be ruled missing back on Earth and the hundreds of passengers on board might be presumed dead.

What should have been simple summoning had just ripped hundreds of people from their families and friends on Earth.

And with Louise's World Door spell not being able to connect to Earth correctly and no idea when or where the next eclipse was, they would effectively be stranded in Halkeginia, unable to contact their loved ones on Earth.

As the airliner flew off towards the northwest, Saito snapped himself out of his stupor. He needed to get up there and help the plane land before it flew off too far or ran out of fuel.

"What was that?" asked Colbert.

Saito knew he had no time to play 20 questions.

Turning to Louise, he spoke.

"Louise. I need you to cast a World Door towards the hangar where I keep the jet fighter" he said in a serious tone.

"What? No! You said we shouldn't use the World Door because it was too unstable!" she replied confused at his request.

"I know what I said" he retorted. "But I need to get up to that plane before it crashes or flies off too far. This is the only way".

If there was any chance of helping those people, he'd take the risk. Riding back would take too long. The plane would be long gone by then.

"Trust me" he added with a smile.

Louise looked up at her familiar's confidence and nodded.

"Alright. I'll do it" she said confidently and began the incantation.

"Headmaster, I'm going to keep this simple" he said turning to Colbert. "That was an airplane from my world. Like the jet fighter only much larger and carrying hundreds of people. They travel very fast and they only thing that will be able to catch up with it is the fighter".

Colbert merely listened, slight confusion on his face. He had so many questions. However, Saito's face and demeanor denoted that this was not the time to be asking questions.

"I need you to gather a group of mages from the Academy and ride to the Ostland's airstrip as fast as possible, preferably wind, water, and earth mages. Those people on board that plane have no idea what has happened. I need to get them on the ground as soon as possible and I'll need yours and the mages' help to do so."

As he said this, Louise finished the incantation and the familiar oval appeared in front of her. It showed the hangar where the jet fighter was located. Small sparks danced around its edges, denoting the instability that had been plaguing portal spells for some time now

"Please headmaster. We need to help those people" he pleaded.

"Very well Saito. But we must discuss this later" replied Colbert.

"Trust me headmaster. When this is over, I'll tell you anything you want to know. But for now, time is crucial" said Saito. He picked Louise up, who was still holding the oval open with her wand.

"I'm going to sprint through it. Ready?" he asked her.

She nodded and they ran into the portal.

Both their hair stood up on end as electricity danced along their skin. Ignoring the momentary pain, they emerged almost immediately only a few yards away from the hangar where the jet was stored.

Putting Louise down, they ran to the jet. Looking up towards his left, he could see the airliner still flying towards the northwest. Quickly thinking ahead, he switched on the small generator they'd brought back from Japan to power a radio they'd also brought back.

"You remember how to use this right? Just click and talk" he reminded her.

"Yes I remember you stupid dog! Now go help those people!" she yelled.

Saito smiled and kissed her, then grabbed the flight helmet, which included the facemask and microphone and jumped into the jet. The knowledge of the jet flowed into his mind almost instantly and he began toggling and flipping switches at a speed that would make every pilot on Earth jealous.

Louise watched her familiar as he powered up the metal dragon. She'd been on it before during the Ancient Dragon Crisis and she swore she'd only fly on that ungodly fast beast if her life depended on it.

Saito heard the jet's engines begin to wind up. Hearing the engine begin the combustion sequence, he throttled it up moving it out of the hangar. Looking at Louise, he gave her a wave, closed the canopy, and punched the afterburner.

The jet roared down the open flat area that had been cleared for use by Saito and the Ostland. It rocketed into the sky and Saito immediately turned it towards the northwest, tracking the plane on radar.

Putting the mask to his mouth,

"Louise. Can you hear me?" he asked.

"**Um yes I hear you. What is it?"** she replied.

"Tell Colbert when he gets there to wait until I contact him. I'm going to need his help to stop the airliner when it lands" he ordered.

"**Airliner?"** she asked, confused.

"The thing Tiffania summoned" he corrected.

"**Oh. Right!"** she replied.

"Alright. I'm going to catch up to them now. I'll contact you if I need anything" he said.

Focusing on the task at hand, he searched for the airliner. The radar showed it was directly ahead of him at 15,000 feet. He leveled off at 15,000 and accelerated to catch up to the plane before it crossed the coastline. He needed to keep it within sight of Halkeginia.

Finally spotting it ahead, he maneuvered the fighter towards the right side and slowed down so as not to overshoot it.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Victor was getting frustrated by now. And he wasn't the only one. The other passengers were getting restless. The pilots at the front of the 777 hadn't said a peep since they'd somehow gone from a thunderstorm in the middle of the night to sunny skies and broad daylight.

Staring out the window, they'd passed over a few villages. He'd seen a large estate as well with what looked like wine country below. Still, no roads, no large cities, no obvious signs of civilization.

Leaning back in his seat, he checked his phone on the off chance there was a signal. _No service_ he saw. He thought about hitting the call button and asking the flight attendants but he could see they were just as puzzled themselves.

A murmur began to rise from behind him. Looking back, he saw passengers whispering and murmuring as they looked out the window.

Turning to his own, he looked around through his window. And then he saw it. An F-16 was coming up from behind them. _Wait _he thought. The color scheme was blue. He could see a red circle on the plane. _Japanese? An F-2 then most likely. _The plane wasn't carrying anything except for external fuel tanks on the wings. _No weapons_? _What's this about?_

The fighter pulled up alongside the airliner then continued to inch forward. For a brief moment, Victor made eye contact with the pilot. He looked to be around his age. He seemed Japanese but Victor couldn't be sure. The plane continued forward. _Most likely wants to see the cockpit_ _and the pilots_ he thought.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Captain Jehan was exhausted. His first officer wasn't doing much better. He'd seriously considered asking the flight attendants for some coffee but that would lead to the inevitable questions on what happened, questions which he didn't want to answer because he honestly had no idea just what the hell had happened.

Jehan retraced the recent events trying to make sense of things. _We were circling around the island to land at Penang. Then the storm hit. Then "poof" we're flying over fantasy land with no radio communications and no GPS._

They'd been flying over vast forests and the occasional village for 20 minutes, following a dirt road northwest. It was his hope that this would lead to some sign of civilization, and with it radio contact.

However, Jehan was starting to lose hope. No radio signals were present on ANY frequency. Sayid had spent the last 20 minutes cycling through frequencies trying to get a signal. According to diagnostics, the radio was fine. There were just no signals whatsoever.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Inching forward towards the cockpit of the airliner, Saito got a good look at the plane. The side read "Malaysia Airlines" and from what he'd seen in the windows as he flew past, the passengers were confused and concerned. _This is a big plane_ he thought as he maneuvered into position to see the cockpit.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Sayid was getting annoyed. For the past 20 minutes there had been no radio signals at all. Which sounded impossible. He sighed as he rubbed his exhausted face.

"It's as if there's nothing out there" he finally said to Jehan.

"We need to keep trying. We need to find a place to land" he replied.

"I know… It's just…" he trailed off.

"I know how you fe—"

"Captain!" exclaimed Sayid, cutting the captain off. "Off our right side. There's a fighter jet following us!"

"What?" said Jehan. "Finally someone else up here!"

"What do we do? Will he contact us or do we contact him?" asked Sayid

Jehan thought it over. Normally, they'd tune to frequency 121.5 and await instructions from an intercepting plane. He decided.

"We'll tune to 121.5 and await instructions" he ordered. "Find a piece of paper and a marker. Write down 121.5 and show it to him just to make sure he knows which frequency we're on".

Sayid found what he was looking for and wrote down in big letters **121.5** for the frequency. He put it on the windshield hoping that the pilot would be able to read it.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito maneuvered the plane to where he could see the pilots. They seemed excited. They'd obviously seen him by now. The co-pilot was fumbling around for something. Saito couldn't see too well what he was doing but he was preoccupied with another problem.

_How the hell am I gonna communicate with them? I don't know what frequency they're on! _he thought.

He noticed the co-pilot put up a piece of paper on the windshield. Saito could barely make out what it was. He thought he saw numbers on it. _Wait… Numbers… That's it! It's a frequency! _he thought. Looking closely, he focused on the numbers. his Gandalfr runes helping him see. _121.5_. Turning to the radio he switched to 121.5

"Malaysian plane can you hear me?" he asked.

"**Yes! We read you! This is Malayisan 370 heavy declaring Mayday"** came the reply from the plane. **"We** **have no navigation and little radio contact and we have no idea where we are."**

Sighing, Saito chose his next words carefully. They were coming up on the coastline and he needed to turn the plane around.

"Malaysian plane, I read you" he said. Thinking it would be better to explain on the ground, he opted to just make them land as soon as possible. "The nearest airfield is to the southeast. Follow me and I'll guide you in"

"**Wait, where are we exactly? Why are there two moons in the sky?"** said the voice of the pilot presumably. Damn it thought Saito. He'd been wanting to avoid these types of questions in the air.

"Listen, there's no easy way to say this. You're not on Earth anymore. It's a VERY long story but you have to trust me on this. There's an airfield to the southwest where you can land and I'll explain everything there" replied Saito.

There was no reply from the plane. Saito began to worry.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Jehan was conflicted. On the one hand he wanted to trust the pilot of the fighter jet flying next to him. Part of him believed that they really weren't on Earth anymore._ Two moons, no satellites, no radio signals, it's hard not to believe_.

On the other hand, the whole situation was absurd. _If they weren't_ _on Earth, just where were they? How did they get there? How was there a fighter jet next to them who knew where they were? How did he get here? Was it the same phenomena they'd just encountered?_

Sayid seemed just as conflicted. He kept glancing at the captain, as if waiting for him to do or say something.

"Captain I don't know about you but I'm tempted to believe him. There's two moons hovering in the sky above us. We have no satellite connection, no radio signals until the fighter jet showed up. I say we land and figure this out" he told his superior.

Jehan nodded.

"I agree. Though I wish I didn't" he added.

"Jet fighter, we'll follow your lead" radioed the captain.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

"**Jet fighter, we'll follow your lead" **came the reply Saito had been waiting for.

"**If we are going to land we'll need to dump some fuel though. We have about 4 hours left and we need to dump about 2 and a half hours' worth. " **

"Ok Malaysian plane. Just follow me. How long will it take to dump fuel?" he asked the plane.

"**Shouldn't take too long." **they responded. "**How far is the airfield?"**

"About 25 minutes to the southeast. Follow me and I'll lead you to it. I'm going to switch frequencies to contact them now".

"**Acknowledged. We'll climb up to 20,000 feet and begin dumping once we have visual on the airfield."**

Saito switched back to the Des Ornieres radio frequency

"Louise, can you hear me?" he radioed.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Back at Des Ornieres, Louise heard the radio crackle to life.

"**Louise, can you hear me?"**

"Yes. I can hear you Saito. Colbert has just arrived with several mages" she replied.

"**Perfect! Let me talk to him" **he asked.

Putting the radio down, she called the fire mage over and showed him the microphone.

"Saito I have the headmaster with me" she said.

"**Professor, the airplane is on its way. When it lands, it's going to be moving fast. We're going to need wind mages to cast wind spells to slow it down.** **We'll also need an earth spell to make some stairs to the doors once it's stopped" **listed Saito.

"I'll get the mages into position Saito" replied the balding headmaster.

"**Awesome. Stay on the sides of the landing strip and DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GO NEAR THE ENGINES UNTIL THEY'RE SHUT DOWN. They're the two big round things under the wings. They'll suck you in and kill you" **added Saito.

Both Colbert's and Louise's eyes widened at this. _This thing is that dangerous? And people still fly on it?_

"Alright Saito. We'll be ready!" she responded.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

They were turning Victor noticed. Turning right following the jet fighter.

(Chime)

"**Ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain. I apologize for not speaking to you earlier but as you can imagine, we've been busy up here. I know you must be concerned and confused as to where we are and what happened. We don't know much either but we are currently en route to an airfield to land, where we'll hopefully have more to tell you. Our plan is to fly to the airfield, then climb and begin a fuel dump to lighten us for landing. I'm sorry we don't have much information, but we'll have some answers for you once we land.**"

Victor frowned. He'd been hoping for some answers now, but apparently he'd have to wait. He went back to staring down at the passing forests. The fighter was still there, flying ahead of them.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

They flew for 20 minutes, Saito following the road from La Rochelle to Tristania, which would lead them to the crossroads that took them to Des Ornieres and the Academy. Soon enough, the estate which he called home came into view. Switching frequencies, he called to the airliner.

"Malaysian 370, we're almost there. Do you see the large white home coming up?" he asked.

"**Yes we have the home in sight".**

"Look to the left and past the home for two buildings, one large and one small next to a large flat clearing. Do you see it?"

There was silence for a few seconds as the pilots looked for it.

"**Yes we see it. Is that clearing the landing strip?" **came the voice, sounding slightly concerned.

"Yes that's it. I realize it's not an actual runway but that's as close to a runway as you'll find here" he told them. "We have a way of stopping the plane once it lands. Trust me, you'll be fine."

*****CONVERGENCE*****

"**Trust me, you'll be fine."**

The two pilots at the controls of the massive jet were concerned about landing on a dirt runway but since they had no idea where they were, they had little choice. The runway looked a little too short for comfort but if there was a way to stop them they'd take it.

Their concern was that they didn't know how much space the 777 would need when landing on dirt. On asphalt, they could calculate the minimum runway length based on their weight. Here though, they had no idea how the plane would react. But they had little choice. If this was the nearest airstrip, then this was their best bet.

"Alright. We're going to climb to 20,000 feet and begin our fuel dump while circling around the field. It shouldn't take too long. We'll let you know when we're done" they told the jet fighter.

"**Ok. By the way, you can call me Saito" **was all they heard as they throttled up to 20,000 feet.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito watched as the massive airliner accelerated and began to climb. He kept it within his view so as to not lose it as it flew up past the few fluffy clouds there were. Small contrails began to follow the plane's engines as it climbed to 20,000 feet. Twin trails began to flow from the wingtips as the plane began to dump fuel to lighten itself for landing.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Back on the ground, Louise was waiting patiently for her familiar to return with the large airplane Tiffania had summoned. Speaking of the blonde half-elf, Louise had seen her arrive with Colbert. She looked distraught.

_Saito didn't have a chance to clarify what she summoned. She's probably worried she's done something terrible._

Finding her fellow void mage looking up at the two planes circling, she walked up beside her.

"Are you alright Tiffa?" she asked cautiously.

"Oh, Louise. I'm fine I guess. I'm just worried"

"Don't worry about him. I know my Saito. He'll help those people land" Louise stated confidently.

"I'm more worried about the people on the… plane. If what Saito said is true, then I summoned all those people from his world. And one of them is my familiar" stated Tiffania.

"I'm worried Louise… What if they have a family back in Saito's world? If I mark them as my familiar, I'll be separating them from their family and friends. When I summoned Saito, he was already here so I never thought about it. But now, I summoned someone else and I don't know if I just ripped them from their family" she continued, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"And not just that. If what Saito said is true, there are other people on the plane. Hundreds he said. You said your portals haven't been working to go to Earth. What if we can't send them all back?"

That was what caused the dam to break. Tears trickled down Tiffa's face.

Then she felt someone wrap their arms around them. Louise was hugging her.

"Believe me when I say, I know somewhat of what you're feeling" she began.

"You know when I first summoned Saito, I was disappointed I'd summoned a commoner. I've never told anyone this but… deep down inside though, I worried I'd done something horrible". Tiffa looked at Louise.

"When he told me about his family, I felt horrible. I'd taken a boy from his home, his family, his friends, and thrown him into a life of servitude. Of course, we eventually fell in love and he told me he chose to stay but it still bit at me. Especially after I treated him so badly at first."

"What I'm trying to say is that things work themselves out eventually. The summoning spell seeks out the best familiar, even if we or they don't know it first. The fact that you brought the big airplane along with them is just an unlucky occurrence I think. And if there's anyone who can figure out a way to send all those people back, it's my Saito" she finished with a smile.

Tiffania smiled back. Drying her tears, they both looked back up at the airplanes as they circled overhead.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

Jehan toggled the fuel dump switch to off. They'd been dumping for about 5 minutes and they were down to about 1 and a half hours' worth of fuel. They flew back down to 8,000 feet and radioed Saito.

"Er… Saito. We're done with our fuel dump. We're ready to land" he radioed the fighter jet.

"**Great. When you land, just do what you always do. We'll have stairs ready once the plane stops. I'm going to switch frequencies to prepare everything" **came the reply as the fighter maneuvered in front of the massive plane.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

Back on the ground, Colbert and the others were waiting for Saito's signal.

"**Headmaster, are you there?"** came the voice of Saito over the radio.

Grabbing the mike, Colbert replied.

"Yes, we're here. What do you need Saito?"

"**We're coming in to land. Can you get the mages on the sides ready to cast their wind spells? They need to push against the plane so it stops as soon as possible."**

"I'll have everyone ready Saito. Good luck!" finished Colbert.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

Victor stared out of the window. They were descending. _Finally _he thought. _I want off this damn thing._

(chime)

"**Ladies and gentlemen. We are beginning our descent. We will be landing on a dirt runway so flight attendants please prepare the cabin for rough landing. Prepare to assume brace positions."**

As the flight attendants ordered everyone to stow their tray tables and pull their seats up, passengers braced themselves for the worst. They'd already been through hell and now it seemed they would be tested once more. The flight attendants briefed everyone on the brace positions as the plane descended.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

Jehan and Sayid watched the small fighter accelerate to land well ahead of them. Lining up with the airstrip, they began settling into their landing procedures.

"Flaps 1" ordered Jehan as he maneuvered the plane into the glideslope.

"Flaps 1" replied Sayid. The flaps and slats on the wings began to extend and deploy in order to facilitate maneuvering at lower speeds.

As the plane descended through 3,000 feet, the approach became the only normal part of the flight's past 2 hours as the two pilots settled into a routine they'd done hundreds of times before.

"_Two-thousand five-hundred" _called the automated voice of the airliner's Ground Proximity Warning System.

"Gear down" ordered Jehan.

"Gear down 3 green" called Sayid, noting that all three landing gear bays were deployed.

"Flaps 2" uttered the pilot.

"Flaps 2" came the automatic response and appropriate action from the co-pilot.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito landed his plane well ahead of the airliner and taxied it off to the side. Quickly shutting the engine down, he jumped out and ran to Colbert.

The airliner was on its final approach now. He could see the lights on and the landing gear out.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

"Flaps full"

"Flaps full. Ok"

The flaps on the wing were now fully deployed, which would allow the plane to easily glide onto the airstrip.

"Landing checklist, all green"

Taking a moment to alert the flight attendants he spoke.

"**Flight attendants. Prepare brace positions. Upon landing, await instructions for doors"**

Turning his attention back to the approach, he watched as the altimeter slowly clicked downwards. 1,500. Then 1,000

"_One-thousand" _spoke the automated voice.

Practicing movements he'd done hundreds of times before, Jehan kept the plane aligned with the make-shift runway. At the far end, he could see a large make-shift hangar. The fighter had landed and moved off to the side. There were people standing on the sides of the make-shift runway but he couldn't make out any details.

Focusing on the task at hand he continued the approach.

"_Five-hundred. Too low. Terrain" _yelled the GPWS. Seeing as their landing spot wasn't in the computer database, Jehan knew there would be more alerts like that to come.

His heart rate picked up a bit.

"_Four-hundred. Too low. Terrain"  
_

Adrenaline coursed through his veins.

_"Too low. Terrain. Pull up"_

"_Three-hundred"  
_

His brow was sweaty.

"_Two-hundred. Minimum. Too low. Terrain"_

Quickly grabbing the mike for the cabin he spoke.

"**Brace Brace Brace"**

_"Too low. Terrain. Pull up"  
_

*****CONVERGENCE*****

In the cabin, the moment those words came over the PA, the heads of all the passengers disappeared into their seats.

Victor sat with his hands on the seat in front of his, head down, but looking outside with his peripherals. They were close now.

In the background, the flight attendants continued shouting for all passengers to brace.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

_"Too low. Terrain. Pull up."_

Jehan looked at Sayid for a moment, their eyes locked and they both knew. It was now or never. He uttered a quick prayer as the GPWS called out

"_One-hundred"_

Easing back on the yoke, he pitched the plane up to make it as smooth a landing as possible. The 777 wasn't meant to land on dirt runways but it was too late for that now.

_"Too low. Terrain. Pull up"_

"_Fifty"_

"_Forty"_

"_Thirty"_

One slight push backwards on the yoke to ease the plane onto the field.

"_Twenty"_

"_Ten"_

* * *

**AN: I'll probably get a lot of hate for stopping the chapter at this point. Don't worry the next one's coming up in a day or two. I'm in the middle of moving back in to college. Plus, I needed to split this chapter and finish the rest of what happens.**

**If you want to hear what the GPWS system's voice sounds like, youtube it. It's very ENUNCIATING which is why I chose to spell out the altitude callouts.**

**The reason the pilots didn't pick up the radio signals between Saito and Louise is because they happened to be on a different frequency when they were speaking. Just bad luck.**


	5. Landings and Explanations

**AN: It was after posting the previous chapter that I realized that the Ground Proximity Warning System should have been going off constantly with "Terrain" and "Pull Up" alerts because they were landing at an airfield that wasn't in the database. Being a detail oriented writer, it vexes me. I've added it to the previous chapter, but it barely changes anything. **

**Now let me answer some reviews:**

**Conor: Yes I realize Louise whips Saito with a horse whip but the mere fact that she was whipping him did not realistically allow me to have Saito stay, much less fall in love with Louise. Remember this Saito is slightly OOC. He's smarter. And I think that the fact that she was whipping him should have made him leave.**

**Guest: Your review regarding the you-know-what ripping the plane apart will be answered at the end of the chapter. You know who you are.**

**Now on with the story:**

* * *

Saito and the others watched the plane ease onto the dirt airstrip with an unnatural gentleness. To anyone on board, however, it was anything but.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

The landing was rough. The cockpit clattered as the plane touched down on the dirt airstrip.

"Speed brakes. Full reverse thrust!" ordered Jehan.

Jehan pulled the spoilers up as Sayid pulled the throttles back to full reverse. Both were stepping on the brakes as the plane rumbled down the makeshift airstrip.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Victor's teeth were clattering. The overhead bins were clattering. He saw the spoilers immediately deploy and heard the reversers engaging just as quickly.

A large cloud of dust followed the plane as it coasted down the dirt runway.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

"COLBERT! NOW!" ordered Saito. The plane was already halfway down the runway. The fact that it was dirt was not helping it slow down. He could hear the brakes screeching. The roar of the engines struggling to slow the plane down was immense.

Colbert and the other mages launched their wide area wind spells at the plane, hoping to slow it down quickly.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

_We're too fast_ thought Sayid as they passed the halfway point of the runway.

Just as he thought that, large clouds of dust blew towards them from both sides of the end of the runway and slammed into the plane.

Immediately, both Jehan and Sayid felt the plane beginning to slow down fast.

_What the hell? t_hought Jehan as he watched the airspeed indicator dropping faster than he'd ever seen it drop for a landing.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

_It's working! _thought Saito as the plane began to slow.

When he felt, it was slow enough, he ordered the mages to terminate their spells.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Watching the airspeed drop, Jehan held his breath.

_80…70…60…50…40…30…_

"Alrgiht we're good. Stow reversers. Speed brakes down" he ordered.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Victor felt the plane slow down to normal taxi speed. The spoilers went down and the whine of the reversers stopped as the engines throttled back up to normal taxi speed.

Someone started clapping and immediately the entire cabin was roaring with applause, including Victor.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

In the cockpit, the two pilots heard the applause and smiled.

Looking in front, the saw a Japanese man waving at them to shut off their engines as they taxied towards the group in front of them.

Grabbing the mike for the PA, he spoke.

"**Flight attendants do not deploy slides. Passengers please remain seated." **ordering the flight attendants to disarm the emergency slides. The pilot of the jet had said they'd have stairs but thus far they couldn't see them.

Pulling the aircraft to a stop, they began the shutdown checklist.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Seeing the engines begin to wind down, Saito ordered an earth mage to create some stairs up to the door.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

"**Flight attendants. Cross check. Prepare doors for arrival."**

As these words were uttered by the pilot, one flight attendant unstrapped herself from her seat and went to prepare one of the 777 doors for disembarkation.

Looking out the small porthole in the door, she was at a loss for words as a stairway of earth rose up to door level.

Carefully opening the door, she peered outside and stepped onto the newly created stairway. It seemed solid. There were people in front waiting for the passengers to deplane, including several dressed with what looked like school uniforms. A few were holding sticks of some kind. Looking behind, she saw other stairs rising up to the other doors.

A quick glance at her companion looking at the door opposite confirmed she was seeing the same thing on the opposite side.

Moving to the intercom, she paged the pilot.

"Captain, there are stairs at all the doors" she said, opting to omit the fact that said stairs had literally risen from the ground. Her priority was to get the passengers off.

"**Ok. Go ahead and deplane from all doors" **came the response as the seat belt sign was turned off.

A few people stood up before she was able to make her announcement.

"Passengers may deplane from the nearest cabin door. Leave all personal belongings behind for now. You'll be able to get them later."

As soon as she'd said they could deplane, everyone stood up and headed for the nearest door.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito, Louise, and Tiffania watched as people began to stream out of the plane and down the stairs at a brisk pace. Some ran down the stairs. A few knelt and kissed the ground.

_I can't imagine what they've been through _thought Saito.

More and more people began streaming out of the 777's eight doors.

Louise, Tiffa, Colbert, and the others stared in shock as more people than they thought could fit inside the plane continued to stream out. Men, women, even children emerged from the Malyasian airliner. To the Halkeginians, many of the people coming out of the plane seemed to have the same exotic look that Lord Saito had. Some wore strange veils over their heads(1).

Tiffa looked on in despair as she realized just how many people she'd inadvertently brought to Halkeginia.

Seeing this, Saito placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile.

Finally the stream of people began to slow. The flight attendants emerged before the last two people on board deplaned: Captain Jehan and First Officer Sayid.

Seeing the pilots deplane, Saito walked over to them.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Jehan and Sayid were the last ones to leave the plane.

As they stepped off the stairs, they saw a young Japanese man dressed similarly to the other people on the ground walking over towards them.

"You guys did a hell of a job landing that plane. My name is Saito Hiraga. I flew the jet fighter" he said introducing himself. Shaking his hand, the two pilots introduced themselves.

"Jehan Ahmed Syed, Captain"

"Sayid Abdul Awda, First Officer"

"As you can imagine, we have some questions about what's happened" began the captain.

"Ah, yes. Well I think it's better you hear it first."

Jehan told the flight attendants to keep the passengers together and calm, then followed Saito.

Saito led them to the side to speak with them in private.

He sighed and steeled himself for a long explanation.

"Like I said in the air, we're not on Earth anymore". Pausing, he collected his thoughts and tried to find the right words to explain what had happened.

"This is a different world than Earth. We're currently in Tristain, a small country in the northwest of the continent of Halkeginia. As far as I know, the world we're on is separate but parallel to Earth". He paused, watching the pilots' reactions. They seemed skeptical.

"I know it sounds ridiculous but believe me. I came here from Earth four years ago my reaction was the same. Here's where it gets weird. Technology here is about 17th-18th century but the thing is, there's people here who can use magic."

He let the pilots absorb this for a moment before the co-pilot spoke,

"Magic. Like with spells? Like in fairy tales?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah pretty much. That's one way of putting it. Here, those who use magic make up the nobility. My wife for example" he said looking at Louise smiling. The two looked at a pink-haired young woman who smiled back at the Japanese familiar.

"The kids in school uniforms are mages from the Tristain Academy of Magic, along with two of their instructors. They're actually the ones who helped slow the plane down and made the stairs" he added.

The pilots looked back at the aforementioned students and teacher. They were staring wide-eyed at the giant metal behemoth that had just landed at an incredible speed.

"If that's not proof enough, just talk to Derflinger. Derf, you awake bro?" he asked seemingly no one.

"Right here partner" came a voice seemingly out of nowhere.

The pilots looked around for the source of the voice.

Saito turned around and Derflinger popped out of his sheathe.

"The name's Derflinger. Nice to meet you humans" he said casually.

The two pilots just stared wide-eyed.

"Did that sword just talk?" asked Jehan.

"Honestly, EVERY time I introduce myself, it's always the same reaction: 'Did that sword just talk? Oh my, is that a talking sword? How did that sword speak?' It gets old real fast!" continued the talking sword.

The two pilots, considering all they'd been through in the past few hours simply stared. Then Sayid did something unexpected.

He chuckled at the sword's commentary. Saito turned back around.

"So now that you know a bit about this world, there is one more thing that I think you should know. And that's how you ended up here. Whether you tell the passengers is up to you but you might not like what I'm about to tell you" he continued.

"Whenever a mage comes of age, they summon a familiar, a sort of companion, usually an animal, to help them. A fire mage for example might summon a fire ferret or a salamander, a wind mage a bird or a dragon, and so on. Some mages however, might summon a human. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. There's plenty of humans here in Halkeginia. The problem is that sometimes, the human is from Earth".

"I was one of those humans. Four years ago, the woman who is now my wife summoned me from Tokyo. Today, another mage, who has the same element as her attempted to summon her familiar. I'm assuming her destined familiar was on board your plane. And that somehow, she accidentally summoned the entire plane." He paused. Continuing, he asked

"What happened before you appeared here in Halkeginia?"

The two pilots looked at each other before Jehan spoke.

"We were on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. We were at cruising altitude when our instruments began acting up. We lost navigation and our attitude indicator. We also lost radio contact with the controllers on the ground. Seeing as we couldn't continue our flight to Beijing, I opted to divert to Penang, Malaysia."

"As we flew towards Penang, our instruments refused to cooperate. We were flying on manual control. Approaching Penang, we flew right into a thunderstorm that was nothing like we'd ever seen."

"The plane was shaken violently and began picking up speed. Lightning flashed all around us, much more than there should have been. I swear I could feel static around me. Then there was a flash and we were here, flying in clear skies."

Saito absorbed this information and nodded.

"Yeah, from what it sounds like, you encountered a particularly violent summoning. Probably from the size of the airplane and the summoning spell struggling to pull just the familiar through" he said. "The portal that's used to summon familiars remained open for a while before you appeared."

Jehan then decided to ask the difficult question Saito had been dreading to answer.

"How do we get back to Earth?" he asked.

Saito's shoulders drooped and he looked down.

"Normally, it wouldn't be a problem. My wife Louise's magic allows her to create portals to Earth pretty easily."

Sayid picked up on Saito's demeanor.

"I'm sensing a 'but' here" he quipped.

"Unfortunately, for some reason, lately her spells have been having trouble connecting to Earth. The connection is spotty or sometimes fails entirely. Even portals within this world have been giving us trouble lately."

"There is another way to get back. There have been humans from Earth who've accidentally found their way to and from Earth by flying into a solar eclipse. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly when and where the next one is."

"The bottom line is… Until we can figure out what's wrong with the portal spells, the only way back is through an eclipse."

The two pilots' faces dropped.

"So what you're saying is we're stuck here for now?" asked a frustrated Sayid.

Saito sighed.

"Unfortunately, yes" he responded simply. "The decision to tell the passengers is yours. But regardless, we'll help you in whatever way we can. This is my estate here and we'll provide you all with whatever food and shelter we can" he finished with a slight smile.

Jehan looked at Saito.

"That will be greatly appreciated if we are truly stranded here for now. Thank you Saito" he said.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito watched as the pilots made the decision to tell the passengers. Of course there was disbelief and skepticism. One irate passenger demanded the plane take off again and fly out of this "obvious conspiracy". A quick levitation spell by Louise had shut him up and brought everyone back to the fact that they were no longer on Earth and that magic was not the imaginary thing of fairy tales that they'd believed for so long.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Victor was stunned. _Magic, parallel worlds?_ _It's ridiculous yet the proof is right in front of me. And right above me_ he thought eyeing the two moons hovering above.

With the passengers finally accepting their quandary, the talk turned to logistics. How would they go about housing, feeding, and caring for an extra 239 people who'd appeared with no warning?

"We have several extra rooms in the manor as well as an extra bed in the basement. We can also throw down blankets and mats in the dining rooms. I'll leave it to you to decide who sleeps in the manor but I think families with children should take the bedrooms" spoke the now identified Japanese fighter pilot, apparently reading the mind of the pilots.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Jehan's face showed a smile.

"We would be very grateful. We'd offer to use the plane to house the passengers but we have limited fuel, so our APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) won't be able to run the climate controls indefinitely"

Saito's eyebrows shot up and a wry smile worked its way onto his face.

"Captain. What if I said there's a way for you to get all the fuel you need?" he asked.

"I'm afraid it won't help much. We would need a lot of fuel to run the APU every night. How would you get more fuel?" replied the captain.

"Headmaster Colbert over there makes the fuel for the jet fighter. I think he'd be able to make some for the plane. How much would you need?"

"About 3 tons of fuel per night. The APU uses about 65 gallons per hour".

Saito frowned. There was no way Colbert would be able to make that much that fast every day.

"Ok yeah Colbert would have trouble making that much every day. If we can't house them in the plane, we could potentially house them here with earth shelters. I'd have to ask the professor though. Hey headmaster!" he called out to the bald fire mage.

Colbert walked over to the three, followed by Tiffania and Louise.

"Headmaster this is Captain Jehan and First Officer Sayid. They're the pilots who flew the airplane" he introduced the two Malaysians.

"Thank you for your help in slowing us down. We would not have been able to land safely without it" introduced Jehan shaking the now confused professor's hand.

_Oops. I forgot the translation spell_ thought Saito. Colbert's understanding of Albionian (English) was limited, particularly when accented. Quickly whispering to Louise, she cast a quick translation spell.

"Sorry. Can everyone understand each other now?" asked Saito. "Sorry captain, just a quick translation spell"

"I was just thanking the professor for his assistance in slowing the plane down. We would not have been able to land safely without it" repeated Jehan shaking the now excited professor's hand.

"Thank you" repeated Sayid doing the same.

"It was my pleasure. Your flying machine is truly wondrous. How can it be so big yet move so swiftly?" he asked, the scientist in him coming out.

"I'm sure the captain would love to explain how the airplane works but we have a bit of a situation headmaster" interrupted Saito, steering the conversation back to the topic at hand.

"We don't have the room or food to house and feed all the passengers and crew at our home. We were wondering if we could have the earth mages create shelters for the remaining passengers. We also need blankets, mattresses, and the like and we were also wondering if the Academy had any to spare. I'll ask the Queen as well but I need to ride to Tristania to do that"

"It shouldn't be too much trouble for the Academy to help with whatever supplies we can spare. As for the shelters, I'll ask them to begin as soon as possible" replied Colbert.

It was now that the two pilots noticed the two rather beautiful women behind the professor.

"Oh, I almost forgot my manners. May I introduce Lady Louise Francoise Hiraga Des Ornieres, my wife and summoner" she stepped forward with a slight curtsy.

Turning to the other woman, he noticed Tiffania was nervous and slightly ashamed. The two pilots noticed this as well, as well as her rather well-endowed chest and pointy ears.

"This is my close friend, Professor Tiffania Westwood" he spoke.

Tiffania was distraught. Here she was facing two of the people she'd ripped from their world and families. She stepped forward and simply spoke:

"I'm so sorry for everything"

The pilots seemed confused at this statement.

"What are you apologizing for?" asked Sayid.

"The one who accidentally summoned you all here… was me."

* * *

**(1) = Malaysia is over 60% Muslim **

**AN: You may have noticed I don't have a lot of Louise. Frankly it's because this story is not focused on her. Saito's in it a lot because he's dealing with Earth, a topic he's most suited for in Halkeginia.**

**Quick answer to one review:**

**Guest: Ok, the reason I answered it here was so as not to spoil the landing. The Boeing 777 is designed to travel at an average speed of Mach .83. That's upwards of 600 mph. I don't think a little wide area wind spell will damage it at all when it's designed to encounter much stronger winds for long periods of time, AND handle the stresses of takeoff and landing. And if you argue that they will damage the plane's flaps and spoilers, these are also designed to handle high speeds.**


	6. Interlude: Postulations and Briefings

**AN: Alright, we're going back to Earth to examine those who'll be investigating MH370 and what they'll be doing and how they'll do it. **

**A lot of exposition here about some history between Earth and Halkeginia (their world is called Alfheim by the Earthlings), but bear with me it's necessary for the later chapters.**

**Some of you who've seen a certain Fox television show may recognize things from this chapter. I'll reveal what show at the end for those who don't. Needless to say, this will NOT be a crossover with this show. I've taken elements from the show, as well as dialogue simply because it is good and corresponds with what I'm going for.**

**Guest: Oh believe me they're angry at being summoned. They just haven't been told exactly who summoned them. All they know is someone summoned them. **

**MySadistChibi: Believe me, these will all be addressed next chapter**

**Krazyfanfiction1: Thank you. Much apprecaited**

* * *

Back on Earth, the media had been whipped into a frenzy over the disappearance of Malaysian 370. It'd only been a day and the news networks were obsessed over the possibilities and search for the plane. Listening to the latest on the radio, one woman was on her way to work. Driving along the highway in Brussels, CIA Special Agent Anna Carlisle grumbled as she listened to the talking heads on the English language radio.

_Called in on my day off. Figures_ she thought. She'd worked her ass off to take a day off and now the 31 year old was being called into work. She pulled into NATO headquarters. Showing the guard her badge, she was let in.

Walking into the building, she saw her colleague Alexander Dreyfus walking in as well. Walking up to him she greeted him.

"Alex! They call you in today too?" she greeted casually.

"Yeah, not entirely sure why" he responded.

"Maybe it's about the plane. Can't be a coincidence a plane full of people disappears without a trace and we get called in on our days off". Looking around she noticed something. "Alex, where's Robert?" she asked, inquiring about the other person who was never far from Alex.

"He never came home last night. I think he stayed in working" he replied. "I fear the state we'll find the lab in"

Smiling at the casual banter, both went for the elevator on the far right. Punching in the code for sub-level 3, the elevator began its descent.

With a ding, the elevator doors opened into a large command center divided into several sections. Moving towards their section, they entered the European headquarters for Section 3 of the CIA. Carlisle looked for her boss, Reynolds, but he hadn't arrived yet.

Moving past the monitors and desks, they made their way to the back, where the lab was. As they approached, they could hear music going in the lab. The doors were closed, yet they could detect the faintest hint of cannabis.

Looking at each other with a "Really?" look, Carlisle and Dreyfus opened the door.

The music was one they'd heard many times already. _Roundabout _by Yes. If it was playing, that could only mean one thing. Searching the room they found who they were looking for. And it was exactly as they thought.

Dr. Robert Dreyfus, one of the most brilliant minds in the world, was high as a kite, no doubt working on some experiment.

"Dad" called Alex. Robert didn't seem to hear him. "Robert!" he repeated.

Robert looked in their direction. Slightly dazed, he was nonetheless active.

"Oh. Alex. Agent Carlisle. You've caught me in the middle of an experiment" he said casually.

"You've been smoking marijuana again haven't you?" asked Carlisle nonchalantly.

"I would hardly classify what I've just smoked as marijuana" he replied smiling. "It's… It's a hybrid of Chronic Supernova… and Afghani Kush….. I call it Brown Betty"

(time freeze and exposition)

If anyone were to ask, Dr. Dreyfus was simply a civilian consultant attached to NATO. However, this was merely a cover. In reality, Dreyfus was the lead expert for CIA Section 3, part of a multi-country, multi-agency task force under the auspices of NATO Intelligence, collectively named the Alfheim Research Division (ARD). Of course, officially, this task force did not exist. It was held with utmost secrecy due to its mission:

The exploration of the correlation between events on Earth and their connection to the parallel world they'd named Alfheim.

Named after the home of the elves in Norse mythology, the governments of Earth were aware of the existence of the parallel world thanks to the work of two brilliant scientists in the 1980's: Dr. Robert Dreyfus and Dr. Nathan Scott. Both had been certified geniuses studying at Harvard who'd gone to work for the US Military at the height of the Cold War.

Both had become intrigued with the noted disappearances of weapons, planes, tanks, even soldiers throughout the 20th century. Both had noted a connection between many of these disappearances and the presence of solar eclipses at the time. Some of the more notable cases included:

A German Panzer Division who'd watched one of their tanks disappear during an eclipse.

Another German division who'd watched one of their Flak 88 guns disappear during the same eclipse.

A Russian nuclear armed submarine which had disappeared in the 70's with 50 Russian sailors watching it happen.

An F-4 Phantom which had disappeared over Iraq during the First Gulf War.

And most importantly: a flight of Japanese Zeroes which had disappeared into an eclipse with only one returning and describing another world.

All these events corresponded to an eclipse either over the incident or somewhere on Earth at the time.

This connection had intrigued Dr. Dreyfus and Dr. Scott, especially the existence of another world on the other side, a possibility they'd debated and postulated while under the influence of psychedelic drugs. Finally, their curiosity had been too much and they'd sent up a rocket probe into an eclipse. What they found had stunned them. The cameras on the probe had recorded how the landscape had changed below, air pollution had dropped to nearly zero, and two moons now hovered overhead.

It wasn't until they'd sent several probes into eclipses that they'd finally revealed what they'd found.

(flashback)

_September 21, 1986, Brussels, Belgium_

In a room at NATO Headquarters, a younger and more serious Dr. Dreyfus was briefing a group of US generals who'd just arrived from the US.

"…our success as a species thus far can serve as an example of our ability to achieve that, which most can't even imagine" he spoke looking at the generals before him. "But what you must understand is that as scientists, we must embrace every possibility. No limitations. No boundaries. There is no reason for them" he concluded, taking out a file with photos.

"Gentlemen, I would like you to take a look at this. These are pictures, captured from a probe that Dr. Scott and I launched on a rocket into a solar eclipse. What they reveal is something remarkable. A parallel world, just like ours. But less advanced in some areas. Now where it gets interesting is what the video we received reveals" he turned to the television behind him.

The screen showed the probe descending quickly before being yanked by its parachute. Below it lay a lush landscape. Above, two moons hovered, one blue and one pink. Cycling through the cameras, one showed something. Four figures closing fast. As they approached it became clear what they were. Humans, riding some sort of winged beast. The humans circled around the probe as it descended. They were wearing what looked like plate armor.

Then one took out what looked like some sort of sword, pointed it at the probe, and fire exploded from the tip. The flames bathed the probe as they burned through the parachute cord. With the probe now in freefall, the humans and their beasts seemed troubled to keep up. The probe cut out as it impacted the ground.

"Now, we have launched a few rockets into these eclipses and the scenes seem to play out in a similar fashion. Gentlemen, we have here an alternate world, where what seems to be magic exists" said Robert, bracing himself for skepticism.

"Magic?" asked one of the generals incredulously. "Like Abra Kadabra, fairy tale magic?"

"Yes that magic" replied Robert simply. "If that video isn't proof enough, if you'll follow me I'll show you something even more remarkable".

Heading outside to the roof of the building, Nathan was waiting there with what looked a window on a tripod.

"Dr. Dreyfus. Generals" he greeted simply.

"Dr. Scott" replied Robert. "Gentlemen for the last few years, Dr. Scott and I have been conducting various experiments regarding this other world. So based on our findings, we developed a window of sorts. A way of looking into this neighboring world. And that, is why we've asked you to fly all the way here to see this for yourselves."

"This window works by capturing errant photons from the world beside ours. The window essentially stretches the membrane between our worlds, and allows us to see their image, from our side".

"You're going to make some sort of alternate world appear?" asked one of the Generals.

"It's already there, General Pelt. At all times. Right in front of our eyes. We just can't see it."

Turning on the window, Nathan moved to the side as the generals saw the image of the Brussels skyline turn into what looked like a medieval city. It was beautiful in its own right. A large castle dominated the new skyline. Panning the window around, large sailing ships seemed to be flying around the castle. A few humans seemed to be riding those same beasts from before. Below, people milled around, going about their daily business, unaware of the humans from another world, watching them in astonishment.

"Gentlemen. You are looking through a window into another world"

(end flashback)

After that episode, Dreyfus and Scott had secured funding to research the world they'd christened Alfheim. They'd learned quite a bit about the entire world, how the lands in Alfheim corresponded to Earth, such as Halkeginia to Europe, the Elven Lands to Greece and Turkey, Rub Al Khali to the Persian states, and so on. They'd realized that the civilizations they'd seen were concentrated in these three areas. When they'd tried opening a window from the US, they'd only seen untamed wilderness or wide open ocean.

Another thing they'd discovered is that regardless of the location of the eclipse on Earth, their probes always emerged near these three areas, something which baffled both scientists.

Over the years, they'd come up with a rough map of Halkeginia, the Elven Sahara, and Rub Al Khali. They'd also learned a bit about its history. How the nobles with magic ruled over the rest of the people, something which often led to abuse. However, the two geniuses and their staff agreed they could not intervene in Alfheim. Even if they did want to, there was no way to cross over besides the eclipses, which did not guarantee a return trip. The presence of the two moons and lack of astronomical data disrupted any means of attempting to predict the eclipses on the other side. They'd also learned of the similarities between Halkeginia and Europe, often throwing out the numbers of the improbability that the same languages were spoken in both continents.

The entire operation had nearly been shuttered when Nathan Scott went missing in 1999. Whether he was kidnapped, murdered, or simply went AWOL, no one knew. The event had left Richard depressed. It had taken him years to recover and he was never the same. His eccentricities became more noticeable after Scotty's disappearance. He had gone to work for a pharmaceutical company but his unusual tendencies meant he never held a job for too long.

A small group within NATO designated the Alfheim Research Division had been formed to continue research. They'd discovered exotic energy readings during the 2004 Sumatran Earthquake and Tsunami, major heat waves over Europe, and unprecedented lightning storms over the Bermuda Triangle.

What had finally brought an interesting twist into research into Alfheim had been an unexpected event: The disappearance of a boy in Tokyo into a seemingly green portal.

The event had been captured on security cameras and sensors had captured the same energy seen in the eclipse portals. The Japanese Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, Naicho, had asked for help from the US into how some kid had disappeared into nothing.

Section 3 had taken up the side mission of trying to determine if the kid had ended up in Alfheim. He'd been identified as 17 year old Saito Hiraga. For a year and a half they'd looked for intel on his whereabouts in Alfheim. The task had been harder than one would think. It wasn't like ARD agents from the various agencies in Europe could walk around with a window trying to pick up something about someone who could very well be dead anyway.

They'd eventually determined he was in Halkeginia, apparently bound to a young mage by the name of Louise Valliere. They'd picked up intel on his exploits in Halkeginia. Apparently, he was rather well known there now.

And then, four years prior, a dual portal event had been registered within hours, with no eclipse at the time. This time, the loss had been a fully armed F-2 jet fighter. During the course of the investigation, another portal event was registered in the middle of downtown Tokyo, with none other than their wayward dimension hopper reappearing with a pink haired girl in tow. The initial reaction had been to detain the two for questioning on how they could seemingly move between worlds so easily.

However, upon seeing his closeness and involvement with the Valliere girl, the decision had been made not to intervene and simply observe. The reason being that he was apparently important enough in Alfheim that the repercussions could alter the state of things there. Additionally, apprehending him would raise questions from those he knew on Earth.

They'd opted to simply study the portals he used to travel back and forth. And they had for the past four years, along with Naicho, studied the portals he and the girl used, attempting to recreate them, to no avail. Dreyfus initially refused to partake in recreating the portals but warmed to the idea after a few years for some reason.

(end time freeze and exposition)

Despite Dreyfus' eccentricities, his genius was undisputed. And so the ARD, NATO, and Belgian Police looked the other way on his habit of smoking sometimes.

"Dad, why are you smoking?" Alex asked his father. He knew Robert only smoked when he needed to think straight. Being a genius had its downside. His father's mind literally raced, thinking of several things at once.

"I'm simply postulating potential theories and equations on erm... trans-dimensional travel. Our friend Mr. Hiraga seems to have no regard for the laws of physics and conservation of energy. He simply comes and goes." he said frustrated. "Not to mention, he does so with no regard to the potential consequences it could have on the membrane between worlds!" he rambled on. "This magic is truly an incredible substance. If only we could replicate it or see how it works!"

"Yeah well it's not like we can click our heels, hop over there, grab some pixie dust, and bring it back" replied Alex.

"Besides, it's been over 3 months since the last portal was detected. He's been quiet now for some reason" added Anna. "Regardless, we've got bigger problems" she said. "Do you know why Reynolds asked us to come in on my day off?" she asked Robert.

"Erm I'm afraid I don't know why Agent Carlisle" he replied. "It could be linked to the disappearance last week of that erm… the Malaysian aircraft" he continued, his buzz slowing him down a bit.

"Malaysian 370 Robert" chided Alex.

"Yes! That one!" he beamed. Walking over to his computer he continued.

"As with all unexplained disappearances, there is a possibility that it crossed over to Alfheim. This would break the pattern we have seen where the disappearances are purely military technology for some reason, such as weapons, a tank or a fighter and so on. Erm... Mr. Hiraga's disappearance and reappearance aside". Robert would have continued rambling and speculating but at that moment, ARD Director Brian Reynolds walked into the lab.

He was a 51 year old veteran of the CIA who shared the open mindedness of the rest of ARD. Somewhat cool and calculating, he was the one in charge of the ARD.

"Briefing in 10 minutes Carlisle. Bring them" he ordered simply. One could tell he was under a lot of stress.

Walking over to the briefing room, with the eccentric scientist and his son, Carlisle opened the door to see the other teams from the other NATO countries already assembled.

They waited for a few minutes before Reynolds stepped in.

"Good morning. I would like to thank those who sacrificed their days off for coming in. I realize you're long overdue but unfortunately we've got a job to do. Pull up the files please" he asked the assistant with the clicker.

"As you've no doubt heard, yesterday a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared from radar just west of Penang, Malaysia. No radio, no radar, nothing. Though the official channels believe it crashed into the Indian Ocean, we've just received intelligence that may denote otherwise".

"We've received word from Australian ASIS Division 2 that they picked up readings of high energy in the area surrounding Penang the night the aircraft disappeared. Energy similar to that picked up in the portals in Japan. Penang reported a thunderstorm appeared without much warning to their west and that other aircraft nearby saw abnormal amounts of lightning emanating from the storm. Our own data confirms all this, as well as data from India and Thailand".

"Therefore, we have been requested to investigate the possibility that Malaysian 370 has somehow transited into Alfheim. If the plane has indeed entered Alfheim, then there could be as many as 239 people trapped in there with no way home that they know of". He paused, letting everyone absorb this.

"As Director of ARD, I am authorizing a special mission for the foreseeable future. This mission will be to ascertain whether Malaysian 370 is in Alfheim, if it landed or crashed, if there are survivors, and if there is a way to bring them back. That means three things:"

"One: window teams will scatter throughout Europe to the usual spots and try to pick up any intel on the aircraft. Our assets in Greece and Turkey will search the Elven Lands, while our assets in the Persian states will try to pick up something from Rub Al Khali".

"Two: Dr. Dreyfus, I'll need you to continue to work on the next eclipse expedition. If we find them, we'll need to find some way to communicate with them. Additionally, I'd like you to find out if and how something so big could transit to Alfheim outside of an eclipse".

"And three: We'll need a cover story if we manage to find them and bring them back. Public Relations, I'll need you to come up with something plausible enough that it'll stave off the usual media frenzy".

"Make no mistake people. We may have our citizens trapped in a parallel world with no idea where they are. Coordinate with Australia, India, and the other Asian countries, use whatever resources you need, and get some answers. Let's find that plane" he ordered.

* * *

**AN: A LOT of exposition this chapter. I'm really sorry about this. I hate putting too much exposition into one chapter but I had to in order to set up the ARD and how much they know about Alfheim. Alfheim here refers to the ENTIRE parallel world, Halkeginia, Rub Al Khali, Elven Sahara, etc... Remember Halkeginia is just a continent in Alfheim.  
**

**So, for those who didn't get the reference, yes this was a reference to Fringe. And yes there will be more to come. I'm using things from Fringe because the show deals with two universes. Therefore, it's good for drawing material from when dealing with Earth and Alfheim.**

**For those who accuse me of writing that flashback simply so I could use lines from the show… Ok you got me… They're really good though. Also I feel I needed to show just how they'd discovered Alfheim and researched it. Remember this is the 1980's and 90's… No drones yet… All they could do to study it was launch probes on rockets into eclipses.**

**Why do I have Dreyfus smoking? Dreyfus is based on Walter Bishop from Fringe, and this little exchange is something I put in to highlight his erm.. eccentricities. Fringe fans may have guessed, Carlisle is based on Olivia Dunham, Alex on Peter Bishop, and Reynolds on Phillip Broyles. **

**To see what these characters look like, see my profile. I couldn't get an image for Reynolds because no one has anime-ized him.**

**Bear with me, I think the exposition chapters are pretty much done now. From here on, it's the story. Next chapter: Back to Halkeginia and the brewing conflict between the passengers and the Halkeginians**


	7. Conflicts and Catharsis

**AN: Back to Alfheim and Halkeginia.**

**Before I continue, I would like to offer an update on the search for MH370 in real life. Recently, the Fugro engineering company, a Dutch contractor was awarded the contract to continue the search for the plane. The company will search approximately 23,000 miles of the seabed, some of which is more than 15,000 feet deep. Though it may take some time, I am confident the plane will be found. As always, my thoughts are with the families and friends of those missing. I dedicate this story to them.**

**Now some reviews. I haven't gotten too many reviews recently. I feel I'm losing people's interest. Rest assured, things are going to start to pick up soon.**

**Guest: I can't really answer that question yet.**

**PEJP Bengtzone V2: In this story, Brimir was human. His magic arose out of a mutation, which began to propagate after his death, thus leading to the rise of nobles.**

**HighTreason25: Thank you**

* * *

"The one who accidentally summoned you all here… was me"

Saito braced himself for the worst. He didn't know how the two pilots would react.

Jehan and Sayid had mixed reactions. On the one hand, a small part of them sympathized with the girl. She'd accidentally brought 239 strangers from their home and she was traumatized and scared at the implications. On the other hand, both were angry. Sayid in particular, looked furious.

Here they were staring at the person responsible for the hell they'd just been through and the trials that were surely to come. Their wives and families back home were no doubt devastated, especially if they were presumed dead. Not to mention the families and friends of the passengers. However, they could see in the girl's eyes true despair at what she'd done. Jehan realized then.

_This isn't her fault. Not entirely at least._

Sayid though seemed like he hadn't realized this. He simply stormed off, no doubt to cool off.

Tiffania watched the younger of the two pilots storm off. Tears were still in her eyes.

"I forgive you"

She looked up. The older pilot's face was stern but warm as well.

"If it wasn't your fault, then you have nothing to apologize for young lady" he continued.

"I'll go speak with my companion. In the meantime, I recommend you not mention this to the other passengers. They may not be so forgiving. I'll speak with them as well" concluded Jehan, walking off towards Sayid.

Saito let out a sigh. He'd been dreading what would happen when people found out.

"Are you ok Tiffa?" he asked her.

"I'm better now. This is all just so confusing" she confessed.

"We'll figure it out" he reassured her. Looking towards the group of passengers, he saw a few curious looks and many people unsure of what to feel. So far as they knew, they'd ended up here but they didn't know exactly who was responsible. He felt a few hostile looks towards Tiffa and the other mages.

His thoughts turned to provisions and logistics. The earth mages were already busy making an extra shelter for the passengers, just outside of the manor. However, Des Ornieres was primarily wine country. They grew enough sustenance to sustain the territory's village and population, plus a surplus that they kept for emergencies, but suddenly they had 239 extra mouths to feed.

Sure he could ask the Valliere's and the Queen for provisions but he couldn't take their food for long.

"Perhaps we could ask them to work in the fields in exchange for food? The extra revenue would let us buy more food and supplies"

Saito turned to Louise, surprised. That might work. Of course that counted on convincing the traumatized passengers to do so, something that didn't sound too smart with how tensions were right now. Things looked like they could boil over without much warning. The passengers were sad, angry, and confused, a dangerous combination.

However, Saito mulled another possibility. Something that could help him transform Halkeginia. For now, however, he had to worry about the present.

"I think we should let things calm down for now before telling them" he said.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Victor was gathered along with the rest of the passengers, sitting and standing around waiting for something. After being told where they were and the fact that magic existed after all, the pilots had been strangely quiet, as well as the flight attendants, even amidst the constant barrages of questions as to how they ended up here. The two pilots had gone back to speak with the Japanese man and his companions.

They'd come back after a few minutes. Well, the first officer had at least. He had a look of anger and sadness about him. The captain shortly followed, and seemed to be speaking with him. Victor took the time to look around him and examine his fellow passengers.

There were several families with children he noted. A few businessmen in suits. Most people were just anxious and confused. However, there were signs of anger among them too. Victor could feel the tension. He knew something was going to happen soon.

The pilots were speaking with the flight attendants now. A few people surrounding them, were overhearing. Suddenly, some of the more tense passengers near the flight attendants began yelling and demanding answers. The captain attempted to regain control of the situation. However, the group stomped off towards the group of mages.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito, Louise, and Colbert were discussing supply deliveries. The Academy would bring any extra blankets and mattresses, as well as any food they could spare within the next day or two. They had already dispatched a rider to the Valliere lands and to Tristania with a message for the Queen. Tiffania was off by herself, still shaken.

"HEY! YOU!" came a shout. A few irate passengers was storming over towards Tiffa. One roughly grabbed her by her collar. Saito jumped into action, racing towards them.

"THIS IS ALL YOU PEOPLE'S FAULT! SEND US BACK NOW!" he yelled. Other passengers were beginning to crowd around them. Saito pulled the passenger off Tiffa and drew Derflinger. Louise drew her wand and Colbert readied his staff, fire dancing near its focus.

"GET BACK! THIS WASN'T HER FAULT!" Saito yelled back realizing too late his mistake.

"SHE BROUGHT US HERE? SEND US BACK BITCH! YOU'VE RIPPED US FROM OUR FAMILIES!"

"WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO US?!" came another cry.

"It was her?"

"How could she do this? Why?"

"What about my family? My wife does not work!"

"I need to get back to my family!"

Soon the uproar was unintelligible. Saito desperately pleaded with the crowd. Tiffa was sobbing. There were too many.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Victor did not like where this was going. The crowd was upset and looking for someone to take it out on. He did his best trying to calm his neighbors but their voices drowned out his own. He tried muscling his way to the front towards the blonde woman. The pilots, he saw were trying to do the same, along with the flight attendants and a few other level headed passengers.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

Louise was seriously regretting casting that translation spell on the passengers. The uproar was intolerable and the situation was going nowhere fast. Suddenly, she had an idea. She quickly charged up a spell.

The crowd's yelling continued until an explosion sounded just behind the crowd. A cloud of smoke was dissipating as the crowd quieted down.

"ENOUGH!" she ordered pointing her glowing wand at the crowd. "IF YOU DO NOT CALM YOURSELVES I WILL SILENCE ALL OF YOU LIKE CHILDREN UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO TALK!"

Saito paled. This was the kind of Louise who was liable to fling an explosion at you at the slightest provocation.

The crowd seemed to pick up on this too. Either that, or they were terrified at the explosion lobbing death stick being pointed in their general direction.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

Victor smiled. The pink haired woman was good, he'd give her that. She'd just shut up 200 angry people who'd been ready to riot. He eyed the crying blonde woman behind the mages. She had long blonde hair and… _Pointy ears? Elves? Well it shouldn't surprise me considering what I've seen so far…_ he thought. Yet for some reason, she captured his attention. Bringing his mind back to the current standoff he watched.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

"I thought you humans of Earth were supposed to be civilized. Yes you've been summoned here and yes it was an accident! That does NOT give you the right to riot and behave like savages!" chided Louise.

"You have no idea what she's done woman!" yelled one passenger. "My family depends on me to sustain itself!"

"I have family in Beijing that need me!" yelled another.

"Enough!" ordered Saito. "I know you all must be angry, scared, and confused" he said, addressing the passengers directly. "But rioting and raising hell won't solve anything. Yes, she summoned you here and yes it was entirely accidental. But I give you my word, both our word" he said looking at Louise "that we'll find a way to at least contact your families, if not send you home. In the meantime, we'll extend to you all our hospitality" he said. Acting the part of a lord, he continued.

"Supplies from the Academy and the nearby Valliere lands are already being organized for you all and I've sent a letter to the Queen of this country to personally request supplies for you all while we figure out a way to send you back. She's an old friend and she will help".

This seemed to reassure some of the passengers. However their faces soured when they looked past Saito. Turning around, he saw Tiffa walking towards them.

"Everyone. Please…"

"I am so sorry" she said between tears. "I didn't mean to bring you all here"

"I'll help you in whatever way I can. Please, accept my deepest apologies" she said sadly, slightly bowing her head.

The passengers had mixed looks on their faces. Some still seemed ready to explode. However, to most, the apology seemed sincere. Seizing on the momentary pause, the captain decided to speak.

"Well, it seems if we're going to be here a bit. I'm assuming everyone wants to retrieve their luggage?" he asked.

Many nods crept through the crowd, along with several yesses and quite a few "Mmhmm"'s.

"Alright then. Sayid, start the APU. I'll get the baggage doors" he commanded his first officer. Turning back towards the crowd he spoke.

"You may retrieve your bags from your seats and overhead compartments. As for checked baggage, I'll need several volunteers manning each door. As you can imagine, for 227 passengers, there's quite a bit of luggage" he said nervously.

The next few moments saw several of the passengers, step forward to volunteer.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

Victor heard the captain's call and decided to help. After all, his bags were down there too.

Walking over to the plane, the First Officer was already aboard, cycling the on-board generator, the APU.

The APU started with a whistle before settling into its high pitched whine. Outside, Jehan began opening the doors to the 777's cargo bays. One by one, bags began to be passed back from inside the holds. A human chain was formed as bag after bag was passed back to be placed in piles to be sorted later.

Victor was outside the door. He'd taken off his jacket and was just wearing his shirt. As he passed back bag after bag, he noticed the blonde elf girl from earlier off a ways away. She was looking at him.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

Tiffania had recovered from the onslaught of the crowd's assault. She still felt guilty, so she decided she'd avoid them for now. Walking back past the airplane towards the manor, she noticed one of the men removing bags from the belly of the plane.

She stopped to look at him. Something drew her to him for some reason. He was young, he seemed about her age, if not slightly older. He was dressed finely, though he'd discarded his jacket. His hair was brown and though she couldn't be sure from this distance, she thought his eyes were too. He was passing bag after bag when he noticed her looking. He paused, staring at her, before a grumble from behind brought him back to his present duty.

Quickly regaining her composure, she headed back towards the Des Ornieres manor.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

Victor resumed passing bags but his thought lingered on the girl. _Why was she staring at me?_ he wondered. Continuing the human chain of bags, slowly but surely, the plane's luggage bays were emptied.

Slowly, passengers began moving towards the piles and picking out their own baggage. As the last of the baggage was brought out of the plane, Victor moved to pick out his two bags. Having been traveling around the world for the past two months, he admittedly had quite a bit. He found his two bags then headed up to get his belongings from his seat.

Moving up the earthen staircase, he headed towards his seat, 17K. Grabbing his personal bag, he reached up for his last item. Fumbling along the top of the overhead he found it. Grabbing the handle he removed a long black case that contained a treasured item and one that brought him memories of his father: his guitar. It was a Spanish guitar his father had brought back from Spain.

He'd learned to play from his father. Both sides of his family had been exiles from the Spanish Civil War. He'd been born in Spain, while his father had a temporary job in Madrid. However, despite moving back to the US, he'd been raised in an essentially Spanish household. English wasn't his first language, yet he spoke it with no accent, plus a little French, though in his opinion, his French was horrendous. He'd also picked up a few phrases in other languages from his recent travels.

Bringing the guitar down to his two other bags, he put it on his back and rolled his two bags towards the group of passengers that were waiting for something or someone to tell them where to go.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito walked up to the pilots and flight attendants, and they all turned to the gathered group of passengers. The pilot spoke first.

"Ok everyone. We've decided that sleeping arrangements will be flexible. Those wishing to sleep on the plane may do so. However, please note, we will not be switching on the climate controls, in order to conserve fuel for the flight home" he said, getting nods and reassuring smiles from the passengers at this statement.

"Lord Saito here has graciously agreed to donate his extra bedrooms for the use of families with children and elderly passengers. As for the rest of us, he has also allowed us the use of the large dining and living rooms for us. For those who don't fit inside the manor, the erm… earth mages, have finished a large shelter for us".

Saito spoke next.

"The shelter is just outside the manor, so you won't be far away from your fellow passengers. For water, I'll ask some of the staff to show you to the pump and show you how it works. Foodwise, we're working on dinner tonight and the rest of the supplies should be here tomorrow. As for hygiene, erm… We have an outhouse with a deep cistern. Please keep in mind that there is an incineration spell at the bottom for incinerating waste, so while the smell won't be a problem, there is a slight danger. Families, I recommend you accompany your children to the outhouse. Now if you'll follow me, we'll get you all settled".

Despite a few grumblings, the passengers opted to follow the Japanese noble, seeing as they couldn't really do anything else.

*****CONVERGENCE*** **

The staff began showing the passengers to where they would be staying.

Meanwhile, Saito had gone straight to the kitchen. He needed a way to feed 239 people while the extra supplies arrived from the Valliere's and the Academy.

"Siesta" he called out to his head of household.

"Oh, Saito. Can I help you with anything?" she asked from behind him.

"Siesta. What can we make that can feed about 239 people?" he asked.

Siesta's face paled. _239?_

"Um… Well… Not too much. Perhaps some stew?" she replied.

"Will it work for so many people?" he asked.

"It should. I'll have the staff get started right away" she said, walking off to gather the kitchen staff. Saito headed off to organize the dining rooms to accommodate everyone.

"Oh! And Siesta! No pork please! Some of these people cannot eat pork!" he shouted back to her, remembering the Muslims in the group.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Dinner was a somewhat awkward affair. Though most of the passengers were grateful for the meal, some were still sour. Despite this, they all accepted their meal.

Saito watched, happy they were well fed, but dreading what may come. The dinner had put a strain on his current supplies. He could maybe pull of three meals for one more day or do two meals for two days. Regardless, he hoped the extra supplies arrived soon.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

The meal seemed to calm everyone's mood. These people truly were trying their best to accommodate them, Victor noted.

One of the passengers, a psychiatrist, had gathered some firewood outside of the manor and had lit a small fire, inviting people to come and talk about things.

The fire served as a bit of a catharsis for what they'd all been through. Some were talking of their families back home. How worried they must be. Others spoke of what they'd experienced on the plane. What they had learned to appreciate when they thought they were going to die.

One passenger had even realized that he truly loved his girlfriend of two years. He proudly proclaimed his intention to marry her as soon as he returned, a motion that was met with some applause from the group. The group fell silent as they watched the flames dance.

Victor was deep in his thoughts as he stared at the flames. The experience on the plane had scared him yes, but at the same time, he hadn't been too scared because it meant he might see his parents again. With his thoughts lingering on his parents, he went back into the estate and took out his father's guitar.

Bringing it to the fire, he began to play a song he'd learned on his own. It was the theme from a movie he'd watched with his father once (1). The song was slightly melancholy, but it reflected his current mood perfectly.

The others simply watched both the flames and their fellow passenger as he played a song that seemed to go perfectly with their moods.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Tiffania was walking outside, through the woods near the house. The stars and twin moons gave her plenty of illumination. She was deep in thought over the day's events. As she neared the manor, she heard a soft melody coming from its direction.

Peering around one of the trees next to the clearing, she saw a group of passengers gathered around a small fire as one played a stringed instrument. Looking closer, she noticed it was the same man from before, the one who'd been taking bags out from under the plane. She could see him. He was engrossed with the instrument and seemed to be playing directly from his soul.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Victor continued to play a few other songs he'd picked up from his travels. He'd spent some time in Spain, chasing down his roots. His family had been predominantly Castilian with some Catalonians and even a wayward Andalusian thrown in there.

He continued playing as people began heading in to settle down for the night.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

As the passengers left, Tiffa continued to watch the young man play his instrument. She got the courage to come closer. He was so engrossed in his music he didn't notice her.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Victor continued playing. As he strummed the last few notes, he heard scattered applause from the few passengers left.

"That was beautiful" came one voice.

Victor turned around and noticed the blonde elf from before smiling.

He didn't know exactly how to feel. On the one hand, here was the woman who'd brought him to this new world. On the other hand, it wasn't like he had many attachments back on Earth. Smiling, he replied.

"Thank you. My father taught me when I was 15" he said.

"Oh… I'm sorry" she replied.

"What?"

"I brought you all here. You must miss your family"

Victor smiled bittersweetly.

"Every day" he said, looking at the fire. Looking back at her, he continued. "You don't need to apologize. My parents both died about a year ago"

Tiffania felt horrible! She was digging herself into a deeper hole. Fishing for something to salvage the conversation she spoke.

"I never knew my father" Tiffania smacked herself mentally for bringing this up. "I know he was human, and that he was an Archduke in the country of Albion. My mother was his elven mistress. She died when I was 12".

"My condolences. I know what it's like to lose a parent" he started. "I've spent the past 4 months traveling the world trying to find some new purpose in my life since they died. And I've realized something".

"What?"

"They wouldn't want me to dwell on them. I can't change the past. I can't change the fact that they're dead. But I know they'd want me to move on and be happy" he said resolute.

"Right. When my mother died, I was lost and alone. I lived in the forest alone for many years before Saito found me by accident" she smiled, remembering her first meeting with the Japanese familiar.

"He seems like a nice guy" replied Victor. "I gotta thank him for letting us sleep here".

"The name's Victor by the way" he continued, introducing himself. "Victor de la Fuente"

"Tiffania Westwood" she replied, shaking his outstretched hand. She was curious at his name. It sounded foreign and almost noble.

"Pleasure to meet you. So you're an elf?" he asked, looking at her pointed ears.

"Yes. My mother was an elf, my father was human".

"In my world, elves are the stuff of fantasy and fairy tales. Never thought I'd meet one in person" he said smiling.

"Saito has told me stories about your world. It sounds wonderful" replied Tiffa.

Victor looked at the fire, mixed feelings in his eyes.

"It's not perfect. But it has its beauty" he said.

"And your instrument. It's beautiful. What is it?"

"What this?" he asked holding his guitar. "This is a guitar. Pretty common instrument back home."

"It's beautiful" she replied.

"It was his guitar. My father's I mean".

An awkward silence befell them before Victor spoke again.

"Can I ask you something? Why did we end up here? I heard it was because of some sort of summoning but I don't understand why all of us ended up here or for what purpose."

At this, the few passengers left began listening intently to the conversation. None spoke, but they were curious to hear as well.

"Um… Well... Every mage requires a familiar. Normally, it's some sort of animal. Sometimes it's a human, like Saito being Louise's familiar. 4 years ago Saito was my familiar as well, but only for a short time. I tried summoning a new one today but instead, the airplane appeared. Saito thinks it's because my familiar is one of you" she replied.

"Hmm… I guess that kinda makes sense" replied Victor. "But there's like 200 of us… How are you gonna figure out which one of us is this familiar?"

Tiffania paled. She hadn't thought about finding her familiar amidst the 200+ Earthlings.

"I… I'm not sure. I had not thought of that with all that has happened" she admitted.

"Perhaps someone at the Academy might know. Or Saito and Louise" surmised Tiffa.

"I'm sure you'll find your familiar soon" stated Victor confidently.

Tiffa merely smiled as they turned back towards the flames.

"Well" said Victor, standing up. "It's late and it's been a VERY long day for me" he said smiling. "I think I'm going to turn in for the night"

"Yes, I understand" she replied. "The summoning actually took a lot out of me so I think I'll retire for the evening"

"Well it was nice to meet you Tiffania. Good night" he said picking up his guitar and walking inside.

"Good night Victor" she said watching his retreating form. She was glad she'd spoken with him. She'd thought all the passengers would hate her for what she'd done. Watching the flames for a bit, she stood up and headed inside to her room.

* * *

**AN: So we see conflict between the passengers and the native Halkeginians. This won't be the last time it happens.**

**(1) = Youtube: Theme from Once Upon A Time in Mexico – Guitar – video by broadcast113**


	8. Supplies and Confirmations

**AN: Review response time.**

**Guest: Oh believe me. There will be more. I'll consider this part of a story arc revolving around the passengers and what happens to them. Like I said, I'd originally intended this as a one shot, but it has turned into my best attempt to create a story that explores the connection between Alfheim and Earth**

**With every chapter, the number of reviews has died down. Please review. There have been people who've reviewed who've brought up good points, such as how is Saito going to house and feed 239 people. **

* * *

Morning broke through the trees at the Des Ornieres estate. As the sun rose, a few people began trickling out from the house. Some carrying a small mat with them. They walked over to the pump outside and one by one began washing their hands and feet.

One by one, they came to the clearing around the house and began laying down mats. One by one they faced their mats towards each other. Normally, they'd face a certain direction. However, not knowing which direction to face in this new world, they simply looked upwards as one man led the group.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito and Louise were still asleep when something woke Saito. A faint murmur it sounded like. Waking up, he made his way to the window, opened it, and was surprised.

_Allahu Akbar_

There, in the clearing, facing each other and looking upwards, were scores of passengers praying. He'd obviously learned of Muslims but growing up in Japan, he'd never seen them pray. Men and women, though they were separate, were both praying. The one man seemed to be leading them in prayer.

_Subhanakallähumma wa bi hamdika wa tabarakasmuka wa ta'ala jadduka wa la ilaha ghairuka_

_a'udhu billahi minash-shaitanir-rajim_

Louise seemed to stir at this moment. She made her way to her familiar at the window.

"What are they doing?" she asked.

_Bismilllahir rahmanir Rahim_

_alhamdulillähi rabbil-'älamïn_

_arrahmänir-rahïm_

_mäliki yaumiddin_

_iyyäka na'budu wa iyyäka nasta'ïn_

_ihdinassirätal-mustaqïm_

_sirätalladhïna ana'mta 'alaihim_

_ghairil-maghdübi 'alaihim waladdällïn_

_Amin_

As the prayers continued, Saito spoke softly.

"Muslims. They're praying. Their religion, Islam, requires prayer 5 times a day. It's one of the three major religions on Earth".

Louise merely watched. Had she been a few years younger, she would have decried the passengers as heretics. However, having matured and been exposed to the different culture on Earth, she'd grown more tolerant. This however, presented a problem. If the Church in Romalia got wind of what they'd surely brand as heretics being sheltered in Des Ornieres, they might bring down an inquisition on them.

"We'll need to talk about this later Saito" she said. "This might be problematic if someone in the Church finds out".

Saito realized the truth in her words. He nodded and they both turned back to watching the prayers.

_They sound beautiful_ thought Louise. _The language is strange and exotic but it's almost as if I can feel their emotion, their devotion._

They watched as the Muslims bowed down, then back up, then knelt down with their heads bowed down and touching the ground, deep in prayer.

Saito thought about everything he had to do after the arrival of the plane. He had to figure out how to consistently feed 239 people who'd likely never farmed in their lives. He had to find a way to investigate what was wrong with Louise's magic. He also had to figure out when the next eclipse was in case they couldn't World Door back to Earth.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

After the prayers, the rest of the passengers had awoken.

Breakfast was a simple affair of bread and water. Until the supplies arrived, they'd have to eat simply to make their current supplies last.

Saito was debating how he would convince the passengers to go along with his plan. It if failed, he'd have a bunch of pissed off passengers. If he succeeded, he could potentially change the face of not just Des Ornieres, but Halkeginia as a whole.

His plan was simple: for years he'd been trying to advance society in Halkeginia using technology from Earth. He'd made good progress along with Colbert and the Academy. But the process was slow going.

Here, however, he had professionals from Earth who had nothing to do and needed food. Saito figured that by creating tech from Earth, they'd be able to buy all the food they needed until Des Ornieres could support itself. He envisioned Des Ornieres becoming the most advanced town in Tristain. Already he knew exactly what they could start with: a printing press.

But the first and hardest part would be to find passengers who could help and convince them.

He walked around the large dining room that was packed with people, looking for the person who might be able to help him.

Spotting him, he walked over to him. He was in the midst of breakfast when Saito spoke.

"Captain. Could I have a word? I think I figured out how to pay for the food we'll need for the passengers" he asked Jehan.

Jehan's eyebrows perked up. He stood up and followed the Japanese lord to an empty room in the large estate.

"What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"Well… For years now I've been trying to advance Halkeginian society with technology I've brought back from Earth. Thing is, I haven't been doing too well because I'm no expert and neither is Colbert. But now, we potentially have engineers, businessmen, scientists, scholars from Earth. My question is two-fold. Can you organize some way to figure out the professions of everyone on board? And can you help me convince them to help me so we can buy food for them? I said I'd extend my hospitality but I only have limited supplies and I can't keep asking for supplies from neighboring lands".

Jehan thought for a moment. True, they had a passenger manifest back on the plane, but they'd need to speak with each passenger individually to find out what they'd done back on Earth. It was certainly doable.

"We can do it. We'd have to ask every passenger individually. Excluding children of course" he replied.

"If you can do that, we'll be able to figure out the food situation sooner" said Saito.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

The task was long and time consuming. They had to track down every passenger and one by one ask them what skills they had and what their professions had been on Earth. Saito had been stuck dealing with a few difficult passengers. He was sitting down, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"Rough time with the passengers?" came a voice.

Saito looked up and saw someone he'd only met briefly a little while earlier while interviewing passengers. Victor de la Fuente, a Spanish American college graduate who had a diverse range of skills, including piloting, history, and science.

"Yeah, some of them took some… convincing to get to comply" replied Saito.

"We're all just still adjusting to this. Plus they're probably thinking about their families".

"True. Well, I better get back at it" Saito said standing up.

"Tell you what. I'll help you out. You've done quite a bit for us" said Victor following him.

Despite the difficulty, they managed to compile a list of professions and passengers:

34 engineers

28 scientists

9 lawyers

13 scholars

39 businessmen

12 doctors

1 politician

19 artists

14 information specialists

7 students

and

3 agricultural specialists

The rest were either children, elderly, or unemployed.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito looked at the list and smiled. There were plenty of people who might be able to help advance Halkeginian society and in turn, help him acquire enough food until Des Ornieres was self-sufficient.

It was then that a young runner came in from the village. It was Gaston, the son of one of the village blacksmith.

"My lord Hiraga! My lord Hiraga!" he shouted. Slowing to a halt, he bent down, panting heavily.

"Catch your breath boy. Speak when you're ready" chided Saito.

"Yes milord. (pant pant). A caravan is approaching. Bearing the banner of the Vallieres"

Saito's face beamed. The supplies had arrived at last. Hurrying outside along with Gaston, he waited. Soon enough, a small cloud of dust could be seen approaching the open gates of the estate.

As it got closer, he noticed the man leading the caravan. A man he hadn't expected to come personally.

The caravan strolled through the open gates and formed up in front of the house. The leader stepped down from his horse and walked over to Saito. Saito steeled himself and went into Lord mode, giving off as professional and noble a demeanor as possible.

Stopping in front of him, Duke Armand de la Valliere looked at his son-in-law with a serious look on his face.

His mouth moved towards a small smile and held out his hand, which Saito immediately took.

"Lord Hiraga" he greeted simply.

"Duke Valliere. I can't express how grateful we are for your assistance" replied Saito.

"When I received Louise's message, I was agreeably confused at the nature of the request. However, I see now my confusion was unwarranted" he admitted, looking around. Some of the passengers had come out to see what was going on. Armand could count at least 50 in the vicinity of the gates.

"Yes, as you can imagine, we've had an interesting last two days here" replied Saito sheepishly. "Gaston, could you go and fetch Louise please? I imagine she'll want to see the Duke here".

"Yes sir!" replied Gaston and ran off to find his Lady.

"My men will unload the supplies we brought. In the meantime, walk with me boy. Tell me exactly what's happened" said Armand.

Saito, rolling his eyes at his father-in-law's nickname for him, gestured to the staff waiting on the side to help unload, then walked along with the Duke.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Louise was in the kitchens, using her magic to help the staff clean up when Gaston ran in.

"My lady!" he yelled running in.

"Gaston. I hope you haven't been fighting the other boys again" she chided, smiling. "What brings you up here?"

"My lady. It's Lord Hiraga. He told me to tell you that your f- I mean Duke Valliere is here".

Louise's eyebrows shot up.

"My father's here? Can you take me to him? I'd very much like to see him"

"This way!" yipped Gaston, bounding off with energy.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Passengers stared as the two finely dressed nobles walked along the estate. Saito was briefing the Duke on the events that had transpired during the past two days. The Duke merely listened, a pensive look on his face.

"So the challenge now is feeding these people until Des Ornieres becomes self-sufficient" concluded Saito.

"Hmmm… And you say you have a plan for acquiring the necessary funds to purchase the supplies you need? As I stated, I am willing to deliver food but I cannot do it indefinitely. In a few months, we must begin preparing for winter" replied Armand.

"Yes. As you know, I've been trying to advance Tristainian society and living by bringing technology and artifacts from Earth. However, as I am no expert in the majority of these things, I can't exactly make good progress on it. The passengers from the aircraft, however, at least some of them, might be able to help if I'm able to convince them. Additionally, I'm still waiting on a response from the Queen. She may be able to aid us as well".

The conversation would have continued but at that moment, Gaston came running from the house with Louise in tow.

"Father" she said walking up to the Duke.

"Louise. You're looking beautiful as ever my daughter" he replied embracing her.

"Gaston thank you for everything. Why don't you head back home? Your parents must be wondering what's taking so long" Saito told the young villager. The boy smiled and ran off.

"Louise, I was just explaining to the Duke about the situation here" he said turning to his wife.

The conversation quickly turned to logistics. Though a total inventory check was necessary, the Duke had brought quite a bit of food. As they walked along the estate, Armand happened to see the jetliner, parked on the makeshift runway behind the estate.

"Is that the flying machine?" he asked, staring at the metal behemoth.

"It is" came a voice behind them. Turning around, the three nobles saw Captain Jehan walking up to them, Colbert and a few other mages in tow, including Tiffa.

"Oh, Captain Jehan. What are you doing here?" asked Saito curiously.

"Well, some of these, erm… mages asked me to show them the plane. I agreed, seeing as you've all done so much for us" he replied.

"I see. By the way, this is Duke Armand de la Valliere, father to my wife Lady Louise" said Saito, introducing the Duke. "He's brought us some more food and blankets for the passengers. Duke, this is Captain Jehan. He flew the airplane".

"You have our utmost gratitude Duke" replied Jehan, with a bow. "Would you like a tour of the plane as well?"

"That would be most enlightening Captain. I am curious as to how something from your world can fly without windstones"

Jehan was slightly confused by the windstones comment. Nevertheless, he smiled.

"Very well then. This way" he said leading the group up to the plane.

At this distance, Armand could admire the metal beast's size. Yet despite its size, it seemed graceful, like a bird. The surfaces were nearly all smooth save for the feet at its base.

"Well, this aircraft is the Boeing 777-200ER" said Jehan beginning the tour. "Made in America by the Boeing Aircraft Company, it can carry upwards of 280 passengers plus 12 crew. It has enough range to fly nearly halfway across the world thanks to the large engines mounted underneath the wings" he said pointing out the silent engines.

The mages merely watched in amazement at such craftsmanship, wondering what magic had been used to make the aircraft.

"How does it fly without windstones?" asked one mage.

"How does it fly? It's a bit complicated but simply put, the engines produce enough power and speed to allow the wings to catch the air flowing over and under them and push the plane into the air, much like a bird. We usually need a long flat area to takeoff and land since we travel so fast".

Moving towards the stairs at the front of the plane, they climbed up into the cabin. Turning left, they entered the cockpit.

"This is flight deck. From here I, along with First Officer Sayid, control the plane". He went on to explain the controls as simply as possible for the Halkeginians. Leaving the flight deck, they moved aft into the cabins.

"We have our kitchen here to serve meals on long flights. Moving back here we have our Business Class cabin, for our passengers who pay more or fly often with us" he said, pointing out the large seats. Moving further aft he continued the informal tour.

"Here we have our main cabin where the majority of the passengers sit. That's pretty much it for inside the plane" he said concluding the tour.

The next few minutes were spent answering questions about the plane, the passengers, flights, the seats, etc…

*****CONVERGENCE*****

After leaving the airplane, Colbert had pulled Saito and Louise aside while the rest of the group returned to the estate. Tiffa stood there waiting for him.

"Lord Saito. Lady Valliere. I know you must have many other things to be concerned with but there is a matter which needs resolving. It's what started this whole situation. The matter of Miss Westwood's familiar. We still haven't figured out who it is" he said.

Saito mentally smacked himself. He'd completely forgotten about that.

"You're right Headmaster. Thing is I don't know how we'd determine who it is. There's more than 200 people here. Louise? Know anything in the prayer book that says how to figure out a familiar?"

"Not that I know of" she said flipping through the book.

"Familiar summonings usually bring forth the appropriate familiar. However here, there's no way of telling which one it is".

"I might be able to help with that" came a voice from Saito's back.

Unsheathing the talking sword, Saito held him up for people to hear.

"What was that Derf?" he asked.

"If I'm close enough to the familiar, I'll be able to point him out. Just like I figured out the blonde elf here was a void mage".

"TIFFA! HER NAME IS TIFFA YOU STUPID SWORD!" screamed Louise.

Saito cringed at the verbal assault. Moving back to the point, he continued.

"So you're saying if I walk around the passengers, you'll be able to tell who it is?" he asked Derf.

"That's right Partner".

"Ok then. I'll do it today".

Colbert then butted in.

"That would be appreciated Saito. Professor Westwood and I must return to the Academy soon so we must find out who her familiar is with all haste" he said.

"There is something I almost forgot Headmaster. We need to find a way to investigate what is causing portals to destabilize. There has to be a way to send the people home. Barring that, is there any way to figure out when the next eclipse is?" asked Saito.

"I'm not entirely sure Saito. I have heard of a sort of guru who lives in Rub Al Khali who can accurately predict an eclipse. But word of them only makes it here via the trade caravans. Perhaps the elves know more. As for the portals, I'll look into it" admitted Colbert.

"I've heard of that guru. He's supposed to be some sort of genius. But you're right. Maybe the elves know something. I'll write a letter to Bidashal to see if he knows anything".

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito was walking around the estate near the groups of passengers. Some had taken it upon themselves to help the staff in whatever way they could. Others had headed to the village of Des Ornieres to explore. There were children running around playing. All through this, Saito walked, waiting for a cue from Derflinger.

"Stop" he heard.

"Back. To your left. I felt something".

Saito turned to his left and began walking. Ahead was one passenger walking towards him. As they walked past each other, Derf spoke up.

"That's the familiar. That's the one"

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Night had fallen and everyone had gone to sleep. Everyone save a few people. Saito was one of them. Currently, he was searching for one particular passenger. He'd searched the temporary shelter outside and the inside of the manor. All that was left was the plane itself.

Walking over to the plane, he climbed up the stairs to the plane. Placing his torch next to the door, he went inside and grabbed one of the flashlights next to the door.

Passengers were asleep in the first class cabin and quite a few had claimed the middle seats as beds. Walking down the plane, he spotted who he was looking for. Gently shaking him again, he spoke.

"Victor… I need you to come with me" he whispered in an official tone.

Victor awoke at this and looked at Saito.

"What is it?" he asked. "What do you need?"

"It's better I show you. Just follow me" he simply replied.

Victor dragged himself from his makeshift bed and grabbed his tank. Slipping on his sandals, he followed the Japanese lord up to the door.

Saito put the flashlight back and grabbed the still burning torch next to the door. Leading him down the stairs, the walked back to the manor in silence.

All the while, Victor wondered why someone had woken him up so late. Above, the two moons provided some illumination but the flicker of the torch ahead was more than enough.

Walking past the house, they kept walking into the woods. Victor was getting frustrated now. Why was the Japanese man leading him into some dark woods? Something nagged at him, a feeling something was going to happen. An uneasy sense that he should run crept up into him.

Saito, seemingly sensing his discomfort chose this time to speak.

"Don't worry, we're almost there. You'll see why I'd rather show you".

"Yes but why ME?" asked Victor.

"You'll see. Don't worry… It's nothing bad I promise you"

They kept walking for about a minute or two before coming to a clearing.

"We're here" spoke the Gandalfr.

Victor looked around. They were alone in the clearing. Wait, no they weren't. There he saw a torch come around a tree, being held by the old headmaster from the Academy. Next to him were Lady Louise and Tiffania.

"Tiffa?" he asked.

"Victor" she said smiling.

"What's all this about?" he asked as the he stood in front of everyone.

"Derf?" asked Saito to seemingly no one.

"Right here partner. Go ahead and have him hold me" came a voice from Saito's back.

Reaching back, Saito unsheathed his sword and walked over to Victor.

"Take it. Hold it" he ordered.

Hesitantly, Victor grabbed the sword. It was heavy. He needed both hands to hold it.

"Uhhh… Ok… Why'd you give me your sword?" asked Victor.

Saito merely watched and didn't reply.

"Well" came a voice from the sword. Victor looked down at the now identified talking sword. Considering all he'd seen here, he went with it.

"There's no doubt about it. It's him" the sword continued.

Walking over to Victor, Saito took his sword back and sheathed it.

"Victor, the reason we called you out here and had you hold Derflinger is because…" he hesitated. "Because he's identified you as Tiffania's intended familiar."

Victor's eyebrows shot up. He looked at Tiffa who was looking back at him.

"Me?" he asked. "Why me?"

Colbert spoke next.

"No one really knows how familiars are determined. Lady Louise here for example, summoned Lord Saito from your world, who turned out to save our kingdom not once but three times. Perhaps you are destined for greatness as well" he said smiling.

Victor merely absorbed the fact that he was the reason they'd all ended up in Halkeginia.

"What does being a familiar entail?" he asked.

"Normally, they serve as companions, assistants, and should the need arise, assist in fighting. However, for void mages, void spells are long and complex and require time to cast. Void familiars serve to defend their summoners until the spells are ready. Knowing Miss Westwood's history, you'll likely become the Lifdrasir, which functions as a sort of magic reserve for increasing the power of void spells" explained Colbert.

"Is there any downside to it? You're saying you'd essentially be using me as a magic battery"

"No. Lord Saito here was the previous Lifdrasir and for some reason, when his reserve was depleted, the runes simply faded from him".

"Will the same happen to me?"

"I cannot say. Perhaps. Though I doubt it would happen twice. That would necessitate another summoning".

Victor thought it over. Being stranded in Halkeginia, he had nothing to do and he'd just found out HE was the entire reason they were all stuck here.

_I'm here for a reason, right? Might as well give it a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained._

"Alright I'll do it" he spoke confidently. "I'll be your familiar"

Colbert smiled. "Excellent then. Miss Westwood, you may proceed"

Tiffa walked up to Victor, a shy smile on her face.

"Thank you" she spoke.

Victor merely smiled back.

Taking out her wand and pointing it at him, she began the incantation.

"Pentagon that governs the Five Powers, bless this being and make him my familiar" she spoke.

She then did something Victor hadn't been expecting.

She leaned in, her lips pursed and kissed him.

It was a chaste kiss but a kiss nonetheless. Victor was momentarily stunned but went with it.

She broke the kiss and Victor immediately felt something enter him. Or rather, force its way into him. However, this gave way to another presence that snuck its way into him, shoving the first one aside so to speak.

Whereas the first presence had been rough and forceful, this second one seemed gentler and warmer. It flooded him with energy he didn't know how to describe. However this only lasted a second. The first presence somehow shoved the second one aside and pushed its way back into him. A sharp pain shot through his chest, Victor stifling a scream. He grunted in discomfort as something seemed to etch itself onto his chest. In his mind, he could feel something.

_Protect_

_Obey_

That only lasted a microsecond before the second presence focused itself there as well. The suggestions stopped as did the sharp pain.

He was about to take his shirt off and see if something had indeed pierced his chest when that second presence returned. It focused itself on his back and he felt a warming sensation there.

Having had enough of this, he threw off his shirt and looked down. There, across his chest, were some runic inscriptions he couldn't read. Reaching back towards his back, he could feel nothing save the warming sensation. It seemed to intensify for a moment before fading completely. The two presences disappeared afterwards.

"Lifdrasir again" spoke the old headmaster seeing the runes on Victor's chest. "Congratulations Miss Westwood, your summoning has succeeded".

"Well..." spoke Victor. "That was… painful…" he admitted.

"Yeah I should have warned you it might hurt a little" said Saito nervously.

"A little? It felt like I literally got branded by a magical tattoo..." he retorted, eyeing the glowing runes on his chest. "Well, actually that isn't too far from the truth".

"So I'm your familiar now huh?" he said, speaking to Tiffa.

"Um… Yes… I guess so…" she replied sheepishly.

"It feels weird" he admitted. He was feeling a little woozy. He felt funny, as if there was something foreign in him. "You think we could get this all squared away tomorrow? I'm a little tired" admitted Victor as he turned around to pick up his shirt

"Wait… What? What is that?" came the voice of his new master.

Turning around, he asked her.

"What?"

"Turn around again. On your back… Headmaster?" she said.

Colbert came over holding the torch to illuminate Victor's back. Victor reached back trying to feel what they were talking about. Saito and Louise came over to see too.

**(Play: The Window of Opportunity – Fringe Season 2 OST – Start at 2:50)**

"Uhhh… Am I reading this right?" asked Saito.

"I've never seen this before" admitted Colbert.

There, written between Victor's shoulder blades, clear as day, were runes no one had ever seen before.

ᛗᚢᚾᛞᛟᛚᚠ

Translated, they read:

"**Mundalfr"**

Colbert looked at Louise and Saito, confusion in his eyes.

* * *

**AN: Mundalfr? We'll see what this means later. Yes, Krazyfanfiction1, you got it in one. Tiffa's familiar was Victor. **

**Ok. I did extensive research to properly write the prayer sequence. I found the prayer for the Fajr (morning prayer) and opted to use it. As for having the prayer in a circle rather than towards Mecca, remember they don't know which direction Mecca is. So they pray directly towards God instead. I apologize profusely if this sequence offends anyone. It was not my intention. I got the idea from Pitch Black, when the Imam and his students are stranded on the desert planet, they simply pray upwards.**

**The reason for including religion is because remember, here is a large group of people whose faiths differ from Halkeginia's. So this has the potential to be a point of conflict between the natives and the passengers.**


	9. Academies and Astronomy

**AN: Here we are, chapter 9. I swore I wouldn't do this but PLEASE review. It gives me confidence to continue and sometimes bring up good points and help me make the story better.**

**Review responses:**

**PEJP Bengtzone V2: Nice idea but no. I have my own idea for what Lifdrasir and Mundalfr will let Victor do. And please remember, in this story, Brimir was a human whose powers arose out of a mutation which propagated to those who are now the nobles. Your "rough scene" though gave me an idea, which you'll see later.**

**Shin XIX: You are correct. That concept is something I may include later on. I did read that story and it makes for good conflict. As for Des Ornieres not being entirely safe, remember it's been 4 years. Des Ornieres is now prime wine producing country, which has let the town grow to include a town guard. The estate itself is walled off, though Saito and Louise keep the gates open to the townspeople.**

**Demosthenes2211: I am aware that flights in the US carry such things but for simplicity's sake, MH370 did not.**

* * *

As the sun rose at Des Ornieres, two groups of people were waking early that day for two different reasons.

The Muslim passengers were waking to pray. However it was the second group which was moving around with a purpose. The mages from the Academy had to return today since they did have classes to teach. Among them was one person who had not arrived the same way the mages had.

Victor de la Fuente. Familiar to one Tiffania Weswood.

Possessor of the legendary Lifdrasir runes on his chest.

As well as the mysterious Mundalfr runes on his back.

Victor still didn't know what they meant. Neither did any of the mages he was accompanying back to the Academy.

None of the local Halkeginians he'd spoken to had any idea what it meant. Which troubled him somewhat. He'd heard from both Tiffa, Saito, and Colbert that the Lifdrasir runes essentially allowed him to transfer his power to Tiffa to power up her void spells.

His worry was that there would be adverse effects on giving Tiffa his power. However, Saito had assured him that when he'd been the owner of the Lifdrasir runes, he'd recovered his power after some time, and that only when he'd given Louise all his power had the runes been depleted.

Still, something nagged at him about the Mundalfr runes. That weird dream he'd had the night before hadn't helped ease his worries.

_(Flashback last night)_

_Grayness… That's all he could see. It seemed like a fog covered the floor of… wherever this was._

_He was naked for some reason. Looking down, his Lifdrasir runes were shining brightly. Though he couldn't see them, he could feel that his Mundalfr runes were shining as well. In each, he could feel those two presences from the binding ceremony. The rough, forceful presence in his Lifdrasir runes and the gentler, softer presence in his Mundalfr runes. It felt as if the two were grinding against each other. As if one was fighting against the other._

_Suddenly, his Lifdrasir runes dimmed a bit and for that brief instant, he thought he heard someone call out_

"_Mundalfr!"_

_Straining to hear the voice, he replied._

"_Hello?"_

_The runes on his chest lit up again, stinging slightly. The second gentle presence seemed to shrink back slightly. He tried to focus on it but he could feel his "grasp" on it slipping, as if the first presence was overwhelming it._

_He felt the dream collapsing…_

_(Flashback end)_

He'd woken up sweating. Looking down at his runes, they were still there but they weren't glowing. He'd had trouble falling asleep again, which explained the bags under his eyes. He tried to remember the voice from the dream. It sounded like a woman's voice, gentle but also urgent.

Opting to dwell on such things later, he proceeded to the task at hand of preparing his belongings. He was going to this rumored Academy to live with his summoner Tiffania, seeing as she was a professor there. In all honesty, he was curious to see what kind of magic they taught there.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Saito was already up, helping the mages load the last of their wagons. The supplies from the Academy had arrived that morning, bringing more blankets and pillows for the passengers. He was dreading the long day ahead. He had to meet with some of the passengers and figure out what they could begin to make to advance Halkeginian society. The printing press was one thing that he thought could be a perfect first step.

It was his hope that they'd be able to find a way to have the beginnings of widespread steam power soon. The problem was he didn't want to sacrifice Tristain's beauty for it. He wanted things done right here, rather than sacrificing the environment as had been done on Earth for so long.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

The sun was over the trees by the time the mages left. It was an hour and half ride to the Academy since they were towing empty supply wagons, and the mages' and Victor's belongings. Inside the wagon was something else Saito had given Victor from his Earth supplies. A portable generator he'd brought back from Earth. Saito had sworn he had more and had given it for Victor to use and Colbert to study.

Which was good, Victor thought. Now he could use his laptop and charge his phone if need be. Though a part of him wanted to simply drink in the beauty of the Tristanian landscape.

_Nearly untouched by man_ he thought. _No smog, no concrete jungle, just wide open green._

Victor was riding a horse alongside Tiffania, whose eyes showed slight tiredness. However she was looking at him with warm eyes and a smile.

"So Victor, I'd like to get to know my familiar a little better. Tell me about yourself" she asked.

Victor smiled and chuckled a bit.

"Well there's a lot to know" he began. He told her of his parents, of how his parents' job kept them moving from place to place. He told her of Madrid, Puerto Rico, New York, and finally Chicago, which was where he'd lived through his college years.

Tiffa just listened as her familiar told her of these vast cities with tall glass towers. Saito had told her of his home country's vast cities but hearing her familiar's descriptions of his home country sent her imagination wild.

Tiffa in exchange, told Victor of her recent life, how Saito had found her after suffering mortal wounds in battle, how she'd healed him, and how he'd helped her come out of isolation and help save the country twice.

As they spoke, the Academy soon came into view.

Victor could see they were heading towards a large castle, with a tall central tower. It seemed to be in the shape of a pentagon.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

As they rode through the Academy gates, Victor took in the surroundings of his new home. The courtyards were spacious. Some students were milling about. A few of them had creatures and animals with them.

"Students and their familiars" noted Tiffa. "The second years will be summoning their familiars this afternoon. That's why we had to leave early".

"Think I could watch? I'd like to see just how we ended up here" asked Victor.

"Professor Lafayette and I are supervising the summonings. Of course you can watch".

Tiffania dismounted and went to speak with one of the servants walking around. Words were exchanged and the servant ran off, presumably to find someone or something.

"I've requested quarters near mine in the staff dormitory for you. We won't be too far from each other" she said walking back towards Victor with a smile.

"Much appreciated. I'll need some help with my bags and the generator though" he replied.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Luckily for Victor and the servants helping him with his bags, his quarters were on the second floor near Tiffa's. As they walked in, Tiffa thanked and dismissed the servants and walked in with him.

"Well, these are the staff quarters" she said, slightly nervously. Victor picked up on this but ignored it, looking around his new room.

"The tub and erm… chamber facilities are in the bathroom. Headmaster recently invented something to help erm… clean after using the facilities. Saito called it a bidet? Erm… well that's it then. If you need anything, pull the string near the door and someone will come along. Do you need any help moving in?"

"No thank you" he replied smiling. "I got this"

"Well, then… Once you're settled, would you like to join me for lunch downstairs?"

"I'd be happy to. I am a little hungry" admitted Victor.

Tiffa merely smiled back and left Victor in the room.

Victor looked around. The bed was a large, four poster bed, probably a queen size. Moving to the bathroom, he saw a large tub and what he recognized as some sort of primitive toilet. Opening it, he saw it merely led down a large hole. _No doubt one of Saito's inventions_ he thought. Noticing next to the toilet was what looked like a wooden barrel with a hand pump. _That's what I'm supposed to use to clean after? Well points for creativity. It's like a hand pump bidet. Hmph… Almost looks like a beer keg_ thought Victor, the thought briefly bringing him back to his college days.

_Good times… good times…_ he thought nostalgically.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

After unpacking, and promptly getting lost before a friendly servant pointed him in the right direction, he came across the dining room. Students were there eating already, some looked at him with curiosity. He wasn't dressed formally but his outfit wasn't that of a commoner either. It was then he noticed Tiffa waving for him to sit at the staff table.

He could hear the young nobles whispering as he walked by.

"Who is that?"

"Not a noble"

"He's well dressed for a commoner"

"Oh he's cute"

"He doesn't look like a student"

"He's heading to the staff table. Maybe a new teacher?"

Ignoring the musings of the students, he walked over to the staff table.

"Victor, I'm glad you made it" she greeted him.

"Sorry I'm late. This place is huge. Got lost on the way here" he admitted.

"Yes, it took me a bit to orient myself when I first came here as a student" she replied smiling.

The next few moments were spent introducing Victor to the professors. Professor Chevreuse, Professor Lafayette, Professor Marceau, _too many professors _thought Victor. He doubted he'd remember them all, though he remembered Lafayette since he'd be conducting the summoning later that afternoon. Taking a seat next to Tiffa, he dug into lunch. It was eloquently prepared though somewhat simple as well. It looked like veal and bread.

"So Victor, your name almost sounds noble. Where exactly are you from?" asked one professor.

"I was summoned from the same world Saito is from, along with the other people on the plane. My family is historically from the country of Spain but I live in the United States. As for the noble name, it's true. My family is descended from old Spanish nobility. However, the nobility was abolished more than a hundred years ago".

"The nobility was abolished? Then how do you distinguish those who have magic? How are the commoners ruled?"

Colbert smiled. He'd heard this story before but it never ceased to amaze him.

"Well, the people rule themselves. You see… Magic doesn't exist in my world. It's the stuff of legends, of fairy tales. We used to be ruled by kings and lords. Until nearly 250 years ago, when my country, the United States, rebelled against the rule of the British Empire, declared its independence, and established a system of government where the people choose their rulers and representatives to the government. The system is based on a system established by an ancient culture some 3000 years ago. They each serve fixed terms for however long the people continue to vote for them. Though I must admit, that system has become unfair recently. Those with money influence the elections and legislation. It's formed a sort of permanent ruling class".

"Despite this, it works somewhat. Most countries in my world adopted some form of this system, including my ancestral home of Spain, though theirs is slightly different. Spain has a king and a prime minister. Each has a certain amount of power, though the majority of the power lies with the Parliament".

"Your world sounds fascinating" chipped in another professor. "How do you live without magic then?"

"We turned to science instead of magic. Mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, etc… Rather than flying on dragons, we invented metal aircraft that could carry hundreds of people, much like the one I arrived here on" said Victor. Wording it in ways that the technologically deprived Halkeginians would understand, he continued. "We invented metal carriages that power themselves. Though people still use horses in the more rural areas, most people have a metal carriage, or car, which can go much faster than horses. In fact, I have with me something that was invented not 30 years ago that has revolutionized life in my world" he finished, fishing into his pocket.

The Halkeginians looked as Victor pulled something out. It looked like a thin, black box. Pushing something, Victor made the box light up. Strange symbols were on the box now.

Though the Halkeginians didn't know it, Victor had pulled out his cell phone. He still had battery and the generator would allow him to charge it. Of course, being in Halkeginia meant he had no signal.

"This here is what we call a cellular telephone. Or cell phone for short. It allows instantaneous communication with any other phone anywhere in the world. For example, many of the people I arrived with have cell phones as well. If the conditions were right, and if I had the corresponding number to their phone, I could contact them and speak with them instantaneously, regardless of distance".

The mages just stared at the small device in shock.

"Additionally, this particular model can do many other things. A calendar, a clock, a calculator, a camera" he spoke, pressing the glass on the device.

He aimed it at the mages, and they looked on confused, not expecting what was going to happen. A small click and Victor turned the glass towards them. There, in the glass was a very lifelike image of them.

"This is amazing. So lifelike! How did you make this drawing?" asked one.

Victor chuckled. "That my friends is what is called a picture. It's not a drawing. It's an actual image of you. The explanation of the mechanism as to how it captures it is a little beyond me but rest assured, this is actually quite common back home" he explained, remembering Instagram and the selfie craze.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

After lunch and the impromptu lesson on Earth, Victor followed Tiffa to her class of second years. Sitting in the back, he listened.

"Good afternoon children. As you know, today is quite the special occasion. Shortly, you will be summoning your familiars in the Vestri Courtyard. I hope you've all memorized the incantation. Remember the procedure:"

"Extend your wand in front of you, and recite the incantation:"

"State your name, then recite: Pentagon that governs the five elements, heed my call and bring forth my familiar"

"Remember, the spell brings forth the most appropriate familiar for you, based on your personality and your magic affinity".

Tiffa's face darkened, her expression turned serious.

"Now, there is one matter that must be discussed before we proceed outside. Some of you may have heard of familiar summonings at the other academies being plagued by trouble. I'm sorry to say these rumors are true. For some reason, portal spells have been troublesome recently. Which is why we will have water mages standing by to assist. If for any reason, the spells look like they will become unstable or if something is going wrong, terminate the spell. This is for your own safety".

Clapping her hands, her face warm again, she continued.

"Now! If there are no further questions, then head outside to Vestri Court".

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Outside the preparations were done for the ceremony. Based on what had happened at the other summonings at the other academies, water mages were standing by to help any injured familiars that came through. The concern for disrupted portals was real, especially to Tiffa. Saito had told her of the last few times he'd tried to world door to Earth. The portals were failing to connect and were charged with unknown energy. Even with a portal within Halkeginia, the unknown energy shocked anything going through.

The students had all gathered and were ready to begin. Victor stood off to the side, watching.

"Very well, since we are all here, let us begin. Charlotte de Antoinette?" she began calling names out alphabetically.

A short blonde girl stepped forth.

"Whenever you're ready Miss Antoinette"

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Meanwhile back at Des Ornieres, Saito had just gotten out of a meeting with some of the engineers. Two of the younger engineers seemed eager to help him and had gotten to work designing a printing press for production.

The doctors he'd spoken with had agreed to help in the village and train the healers on modern medical techniques.

As he walked along the estate, he noticed a bird heading towards him, carrying in its talons a letter. It landed on his shoulder. Saito took the letter from the bird and immediately recognized the sigil. The royal seal of Tristain.

Walking into the kitchens to give the bird a treat he pocketed the letter for later.

After sending the bird off with some fresh meat, he opened the letter.

_Dear Saito and Louise,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. I received your letter regarding the events you described. Rest assured the Crown will assist you in whatever manner it can. Consider it payment for services rendered to the Crown during times of crisis. I have sent a caravan of food and supplies to Des Ornieres in order to assist you. It should be arriving within a day of you receiving this letter._

_I am quite busy with affairs here in the capital but I would very much like to pay you both a visit soon. I will write you when I leave. Do take care of yourselves. And keep up the fantastic wine. It's quite a hit here in the capital._

_Her Royal Majesty Henrietta of the House of Tristain, Queen of Tristain_

Saito smiled. It seemed the Queen was still her kind self. He went off to find Louise so she could read the letter as well.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

The summonings were going well, Victor noted. The shock of seeing something appear out of nowhere had worn off by the fifth summoning. They were almost done now. He'd seen dogs, cats, weasels, ferrets, and other normal animals come through. As well as weird things, like a giant red lizard, a strange creature with a lion's head and wings, even a dragon.

The last student was a tan kid from, _Germania was it?_ he asked himself. He had red hair and charming good looks.

"Drako Zerbst?"called Tiffa.

The kid waved his wand and did the incantation.

The usual portal opened up, however it stood there, crackling with energy, much more than before. Sparks shot out from the orb. Drako had to step back to avoid being shocked.

A minute passed. Tiffa was about to order Drako to terminate the spell before something screamed through and crashed in front of Drako. It seemed to be smoking and twitching, sparks running through its body.

The water mages moved in immediately, trying to heal the creature. Looking closely, Victor recognized it from an interesting source. _It looks like a phoenix from Harry Potter_ he thought.

The phoenix cried out in pain as the mages began healing it. Drako was held back by Professor Lafayette. Tiffa joined the mages in healing it.

"Is my phoenix alright?" asked Drako, concern in his voice.

Tiffa didn't answer, her mind focused on the healing spell. The phoenix stopped twitching and calmed down. The singed feathers healed themselves. Gingerly, she scooped it up into her arms.

"He'll be fine" she said, turning around and holding it in her arms. It was looking better now.

"You may finish the ritual now Drako" she told him.

The bird seemed better now. It looked at Drako with anticipation.

"Pentagon that governs the Five Powers, bless this being and make it my familiar"

The phoenix glowed and lifted off and landed on Drako.

"I don't know what to call you" he told it sheepishly. The phoenix chirped, as if saying "Well pick something!"

"How bout Fawkes?" came a voice. Drako looked back and saw the strange man from lunch.

"There's a story from my homeland of how a legendary phoenix saved a hero in dire need. His name was Fawkes" explained Victor.

Drako smiled. "Yes. I like it. Do you like that name?" he asked the bird.

The phoenix chirped happily, approving of its new name.

Victor smiled inwardly. It was a good name, though if the kid found out the source was a children's fantasy novel, he might be slightly disappointed.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

Back at Des Ornieres, Saito and Louise were both supervising the sorting of the supplies into the manor's massive pantry. With what had arrived from the Vallieres and the Academy, they had enough for two weeks.

Saito smiled. If the Queen pulled through for them, they'd have additional supplies in. Hopefully, that would last until the additional harvest came in.

The passengers he noted were settling in slowly but surely. Some had taken to helping in the village however they could. A few had even come up to ask him for supplies to make crafts and the like. Saito smiled. The money they made could help pay for food should the need arise.

Louise and a few of the passengers had spoken about meals and how to vary them. Saito had personally never had Malaysian cuisine but he'd had the occasional Chinese dish in Japan. Perhaps a few familiar meals would help the passengers acclimate.

*****CONVERGENCE*****

After the close call at the summoning ceremony, the students all left to bond with their new familiars. Tiffa and Victor, however, were up at Colbert's office with Professor Lafayette, briefing him on the events that had transpired.

"It happened here too, headmaster. That strange energy coursing through the portals. It nearly killed a phoenix that was summoned" she explained.

"Hmm… This is most troubling. I've searched in the library for anything that might explain why this is occurring but thus far I've come up empty handed. My colleagues at the other academies are just as puzzled" admitted Colbert.

Victor merely listened. Most of this was beyond him, such as how mages opened up stable wormholes in space to bring forth familiars.

To him, the fact that the portals were somewhat stable to begin with was mind boggling.

"...keeps up, I fear what may happen during next year's summoning".

"Miss Westwood, would it be possible to contact your colleagues in the Elven Lands for their insight?"

Coming back to the discussion, Victor listened.

"Yes I could write to Lord Bidashal inquiring as to what they think might be happening" replied Tiffa.

"I would greatly appreciate that. It would be most wise to ascertain the reason why these events are occurring so as to hopefully resolve them before next year's summoning".

*****CONVERGENCE*****

The day had gone on as usual, Tiffa had finished her classes. She'd seen Victor at dinner, however he'd left as soon as he was done.

Now she was wondering the grounds looking for him. After he'd left midway during the meeting, Colbert had mentioned the prospect of Victor teaching a bit about his world's wonders and things that could be put to use in Halkeginia. She'd forgotten about that conversation during dinner and now she wanted to offer him the chance.

Walking around, she noticed a figure in the Vestri Court staring up at the twin moons.

Moving closer, she realized it was her wayward familiar.

He was staring at the sky, seemingly deep in observation.

She walked up to him slowly, so as not to disturb him.

"This sky is so… strange… and alien" he said not turning around.

"I can't really say I understand. I've lived under it my whole life" replied Tiffa as she walked up to stand alongside him.

"The stars are all foreign. Back on Earth I can usually recognize a few constellations and stars. Orion the Hunter, the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, the North Star, Canis Major and Sirius... Here though, I don't recognize anything"

"Well that one right there" she said pointing at a group of stars "is the Lover. The story is she cast herself into the sky when her lover left her, so he would be forced to see her every night".

Victor chuckled a bit.

"Our constellations were named by ancient civilizations from my world. A lot of them are based off old mythology. Like Perseus and Hercules, ancient mythological heroes from Greece. Story goes, the Greek Gods put their likeness into the sky so that all could admire their feats"

"We have similar stories. That the stars are placed in the sky by God for one reason or another. Though I'm curious as to why some of them fall"

Victor felt conflicted. He knew what stars were and why they "fell" but he wasn't sure how to break it to Tiffa.

"Well… Do you want to know what we've learned on Earth about the stars?" he asked her carefully.

"Of course. What do you think they are?"

"Well… Not so much think… Our scientists have proven that stars are gigantic balls of burning gas, held together by their own gravity. The sun actually is a star as well. We've sent machines to the sun to observe and record it" explained Victor.

"That's… well I must admit that sounds rather farfetched. How can the sun be a star? It's so large and bright, more so than any star I've seen" asked Tiffa.

"Well that's because it's so close. Well, relatively close… It's still over 90 million miles away. The stars in the sky however are hundreds of trillions of miles away. Even the next closest star to Earth after the Sun, Alpha Centauri, is still trillions of miles away".

Tiffa was dumbfounded. The numbers her familiar was throwing out were beyond her comprehension.

"Don't worry… It's hard to wrap your mind around just how mind bogglingly big the universe is… Even a trip to the moon takes three days" admitted Victor.

"Now I know you are trying to confuse me. You can go to your moons?" asked Tiffa incredulously.

"Moon. We only have one. A silver moon that's farther away than these ones" he said looking at the moons. "And I personally haven't been there, though I'd like to go, but almost 50 years ago, we sent a series of expeditions to the moon. We haven't been back since though"

"I wonder what's up there"

"Nothing. No air, no water, no nothing. I know… It sounds boring but it was still fascinating the fact that we went there. That people on Earth could look up and know that people have been there. It's our hope to eventually visit other planets in the future" admitted Victor.

He chuckled before continuing.

"Sorry for the impromptu astronomy lesson. Give me some time to prepare and I can teach you a bit about the sky and the cosmos".

"Speaking of which, that reminds me of why I wanted to find you" admitted Tiffa.

"The Headmaster wishes to offer you a position teaching about your science. It would be an elective for students but he hopes you can encourage the students to open their minds"

Victor mulled this over for a moment before nodding.

"I'll do it. It's not like I have anything else to do here. You're always in class teaching" he said smiling.

"Yes well it shouldn't be for too long. There are only two months left until the end of term. After that, I, well, we return to Des Ornieres"

Victor merely looked back up at the moons.

"Should be interesting"

* * *

**AN: Ok, this chapter took me a bit longer. Not too much action going on right now. Still setting up for later events. Next chapter will reveal another plot that could threaten the passengers.**

**Yes Drako is Kirche's younger brother. Threw him in there because I needed a character and I wanted to do the bit with the phoenix. I might do a shoutout to Kirche in the future but the story is focused on the issues between the two worlds and Tiffa and Victor**

**Please review. I have gotten several ideas via reviews and it helps me see where the story is going.**


	10. AN: Still Here

**AN: Hey all. Still alive. School has been one pain in the ass after another. I haven't really had time to sit down and write. I'm at a bit of an impasse with Ch. 10 but I'm working on it. Please be patient. Ch. 10 will be out when it's ready.  
**


End file.
